How cryptic clues work
The one big secret, and the nine little tricks
A cryptic clue looks like nonsense because you are reading it as a sentence. It is not a sentence. It is two puzzles standing shoulder to shoulder, and both of them point to the same answer.
One part is the definition: a plain meaning of the answer, exactly as in a quick crossword. The other part is wordplay: a recipe for building the answer out of letters. The definition always sits at the beginning or the end of the clue, never in the middle. The number in brackets, the enumeration, tells you how many letters you need.
"Rearranged" is an instruction: shuffle the letters of NOTES. That gives STONE, and a stone is indeed "a small rock". Both halves agree, so the answer is certain. That certainty, unusual among puzzles, is why people fall in love with cryptics.
The nine clue types
Anagrams. The clue hands you the exact letters next to a word suggesting disorder ("mixed", "at sea", "badly"). Heart transplanted somewhere to live (5) gives EARTH.
Hidden words. The answer is printed inside the clue in consecutive letters. Drink concealed in sweet earrings (3) hides TEA across the join.
Charades. Small pieces are clued one after another and joined. Pub profit is a good deal (7) builds BAR plus GAIN into BARGAIN.
Containers. One word goes inside another. A lodged in the chin? Linked rings (5) puts A inside CHIN for CHAIN.
Reversals. A word is written backwards. Pots sent back? Halt (4) reverses POTS into STOP.
Homophones. The answer sounds like another word, flagged by "we hear" or "reportedly". Seven days sounding feeble (4) gives WEEK, which sounds like WEAK.
Double definitions. Two meanings of one word sit side by side. Just blonde (4) is FAIR, twice over.
Cryptic definitions. The whole clue is one definition in disguise, usually with a question mark. A singer that only performs when steamed up? (6) is the KETTLE.
Deletions. A longer word loses letters. Table loses its head yet remains capable (4) trims TABLE to ABLE.
Five habits of happy beginners
First, find the definition: test the first words and the last words of the clue. Second, count letters against the enumeration; if a word in the clue has exactly the right number, suspect an anagram or a hidden word. Third, learn the little abbreviations (R for right, L for learner, N for north, EG for example). Fourth, trust the question mark: it signals mischief. Fifth, when you are stuck, reveal the answer and read the explanation without guilt. Worked examples are how every solver learned.
The best way in is simply to play. The Society of Crossed Words serves one small clue a day with hints and a full explanation, plus lessons on each of the types above.