The Delightful Anagram

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I love it when I figure out that a riddle is actually an anagram.

Why? Because it makes it so much easier to solve. It’s like realizing that you studied the exact right part of the textbook and now you’re going to ace the exam.

How to Tell if It's an Anagram Clue

You can tell if you’re looking at an anagram riddle in a few ways. 

Look for the "trigger" word

In every anagram riddle, there is a trigger word. A very clever trigger word. 
  • It could be straightforward, like “rearranged” or “altered” … pretty much anything that means that certain words will be changed.
  • Then again, it might be food-related (e.g., “scrambled” or “tossed”).
  • It could be related to a mental state (e.g., “confused” or “flustered”).
  • It could describe a different way of seeing things (e.g., “bizarre” or “strange”).
  • It could describe a destructive process (e.g., “storm” or “renovated” or “destabilized”).

Figuring out the trigger word is part of the fun. The more puzzles you do, the more familiar the trigger words will become.

In the above example, the word “wanders” in this clue is kind of suspicious... It could mean that it’s an anagram.

Next: Count the letters

The second thing that tips you off to the fact that you’re dealing with an anagram is the number of letters. They’ll add up to the number of letters you need for the answer.

Remember, the "definition" portion of the clue is always at the beginning or the end of the clue. If "wanders" is your trigger word, that means that "shameless" or "shameless beau" is your definition.
In this example, when you count the number of clues preceding the word "wanders" (“… seven, eight, NINE!”) you see that it's a match for the answer. Also, because we need all of the letters in "beau's hand" to add up to nine, we now know that the answer is "shameless".

Rearrange the letters of “beau’s hand” and what do you get?
That’s right: UNABASHED, which is a synonym for “shameless”. Bravo!

Want More Anagram Practice?
Yes! I can’t wait to try more anagram clues!

No, I think I’ve got it. Take me back to the list of riddles.

You know what? I think I’m ready to try a practice puzzle!