The Big Change

Medicare Supplement Plan F - Best Option in 2011 <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } A:link { so-language: zxx } -->
Medicare Supplement Plans will be the best option for Medicare recipients in 2011 as the new healthcare reform bill begins to affect thousands of people over 65 years of age. Over the past few years Medicare Advantage plans have been favored by many due to their low monthly premiums and affordable co-payments. However, there have been several changes affecting this program and people who have chosen to enroll in these plans.

The first problematic issue with Medicare Advantage Plans is several doctors and hospitals have publicly stated their distaste for these plans and some have quit accepting patients who are enrolled in these plans altogether. This can be a very stressful situation, especially if you need to see a particular specialist or are comfortable with your current physician or hospital. Most Medicare Advantage Plans come in the form of HMO's and PPO's, which means you need to visit doctors and hospitals that participate in the plan provider network in order to receive coverage or a discounted price.

The second issue concerning Medicare Advantage plans is several major insurance companies have quit offering them in many areas. This leaves people who are enrolled in these plans looking for other options or they will be without secondary coverage and can be subject to huge medical bills should they need services. The good news is people who are enrolled in a plan that is being discontinued will have guaranteed issue, which means they can purchase any plan regardless of pre-existing conditions.

Health Care reform has benefited most seniors by eliminating the donut hole for prescription drug plans, but those who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will begin to notice the effects of a 2 billion cut in funding. Many Medicare Advantage Plans have increased their monthly premiums and reduced their benefits. In many cases, Medicare Supplement Plans are a more affordable option as a result of these changes. This trend is expected to continue into 2011 and beyond.

Medicare Supplement Plans will be the best option in 2011. These plans are standardized by Medicare, which means every insurance company offers the same benefits. Medicare Supplement Plan F will remain the most popular choice, but Medicare Supplement Plan N can also be a great option for people who like Medicare Advantage plans and are in good health. Plan N brand new as of June 1, 2010 and will likely be very popular in 2011 as thousands of people will switch from the Medicare advantage program back to original Medicare.

People who choose leave their Medicare Advantage plans in favor of Medicare Supplement Plans in 2011 will enjoy better coverage and the ability to visit any doctor, hospital, or specialist that accepts original Medicare. The key to finding an affordable plan that offers great coverage is to consult a national broker who can offer every company and will provide honest advice. The Annual Enrollment Period begins on November 15, 2010 and everyone who is currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan will have the option to change.

Free Printable Easy Kids Quiz - Quiz For Kids
Try these 20 Easy Quiz Questions Which Are Great For A Kids Quiz ...

1. What alcoholic drink is made from crushed grapes ?
Wine

2. What transport machine has forks, gears and a chainwheel ?
A Bicycle

3. What stately home in Britain is famous for it's maze ?
Hampton Court

4. Who is the cartoon and comic strip sailor who loves spinach ?
Popeye

5. What is a male elephant called ?
Bull

6. How many letters are there in the english alphabet ?
26

7. What are a sombrero and a deerstalker examples of ?
Hat

8. In which city would you find the shop Harrods ?
London

9. How many weeks are there is a year ?
52

10. Red Sky at night is whose delight ?
Shepherd's

11. From which country does lasagne & spaghetti come ?
Italy

12. What relation is Prince Charles to Prince Philip ?
Son

13. How many tens are there in 1000 ?
100

14. What part of the coffee plant is harvested to make coffee ?
The Beans

15. What is longer a foot or a yard ?
Yard

16. How many lungs does the human body contain ?
Two

17. What number is dialled for the emergency services in Britain ?
999

18. In cockney rhyming slang, what does 'Apples & Pears' mean ?
Stairs

19. Where would you find woofers and tweeters ?
In a loudspeaker

20. What are Danish Blue, Brie & Gouda, examples of ?
Cheeses

We hope you enjoyed this free kids quiz.

We have regular quizzes, updates and special offers through our facebook page, where you'll be able to join in the fun online with our other members.

Feel free to join us, over at:-

http://www.facebook.com/pubquizquizzes

Crossword Puzzles From the Depression Era Solving Tips
Solving Tips for Depression Era Crossword Puzzles

Rated from easy to challenging, solving one of the more challenging of crossword puzzles can leave you with a sense of accomplishment. Of course, you can find crossword puzzles in countless places: newspapers, magazines and in books devoted to them. Surely, the most innovative has been the internet. I finally have the perfect outlet for this very unique collection of puzzles.

The crossword puzzles of my father, sold in eBook format at: http://www.crosswordpuzzlesdepressionera.com/ are challenging in different ways compared to todays crossword puzzles. These puzzles created between 1930 and 1934 reflect the consciousness of those times. Word usage and even definitions frequently change according to historical and current events. In my eBook crossword puzzles, some of the easy words become more difficult because they are related to the knowledge of the day in which they were created. Some clue examples include: (1.) Pen name of famous woman author. (2.) Word made famous by Lindbergh. (3.) American Humorist. (4.) Legendary Hero. (5.) Most recent occurrence. (6.) Minute Particle (7.) Proposed International Language.

The author of a set of crossword puzzles will often repeat certain words that are their favorites by giving them different clues. Sometimes the hints are straight out definitions of a word and other times a pun or joke is used with a play on words. You will always find some easy words from obvious clues that will help you get started and will interconnect with much harder words.

Remember that many words can have multiple meanings and can sometimes be used as either nouns or verbs. The first word of a crossword clue is always capitalized, and if that word is a noun, could be either common or proper. A common noun is a word other than a pronoun that is used to signify a person, place or thing. A proper noun has two distinctive features: one, is that it will name a specific item; another is that it will begin with a capital letter no matter where it occurs in a sentence. If the clue reads "Nice weather," the answer could be "sunny" or it could be "temps," the French word for weather, as the clue could be using the proper noun, Nice, a city in France. As a general rule, the harder clues can have multiple meanings in the words used.

3D Wooden Puzzles: Makes You And Your Child Creative
3D Wooden Puzzles: Makes You And Your Child Creative.

3D wooden puzzles are good time pass. It keeps you totally busy. If somebody tell you about 3D wooden puzzles the first thing that hits your mind is something like different precut pieces that you have to join together to make a meaningful picture. 3D wood puzzles are made for every age group.

The 3D wooden puzzles are easy for children and tough for adults. If adults start playing children's puzzles then it will make them bore as it is very easy. So adults should play tough puzzles so that they do not loose interest and children should play the puzzles that are made for children.

The design of 3D wooden puzzles is so good that when you solve it you will imagine that you are making different real things with your own hands. Imagine that you have world trade center, statue of liberty, submarine, dinosaur, dragon, etc all favorite collections that constructed with your own hand as 3D model. These puzzles are so tough that you will feel proud when you solve the puzzles.

3D wooden puzzles are constructed from plywood of good quality. A puzzle is put in wooden boards and all the assembling instructions are given but the solution of the puzzle is not given. You can get the solution of the puzzle online. So before starting off with the puzzle read all the instructions to assemble and then start working on it free 3d models. 3D wooden puzzles are best for overall development of a child.

It is very good to free up your mind from all the hassle and stress and it put pressure on mind of your child which make it sharp. This pressure is not like mental tension but children put pressure on mind to solve the puzzle. It also keeps them busy for whole day. 3D wooden puzzles are excellent educational tools for kids to improve hand-eye coordination, to develop different visualization and creativity, and to learn how to organize a work process.

There are different series of 3D model wooden puzzles. The series include dinosaur series, house series, animal series, landscape series, and symbols, series that make your child aware of the architectural world, sports series and many more. These series are designed for child's overall development.

It is the best educational gift for everybody and is packed in a good shaped box which is painted with beautiful colors. There are different puzzle sizes available for all age groups. You can opt to get it fully made or in the form of full puzzle with a single picture from which you can see the puzzle.

There are many different websites which are selling these types of 3D wooden puzzles. Just search on Google and you will find a pool of websites working in this field. You can buy these puzzles on discount and at your doorsteps. It is a very nice thing to educate your child.

A Closer Look At Nursing Theory
One of the most important required classes that you will take in nursing school is Introduction to Nursing Theory. Nursing Theory has a fairly broad definition, encompassing many different schools of thought on what nursing should be or how it should be practiced. The study of Nursing Theory includes learning about the numerous models of nursing that have been proposed, many of them in the last twenty years or so. Understanding the various models of nursing can help nursing students formulate their own theories and develop their own models and beliefs about their profession.

An introduction course in Nursing Theory will expose you to the various models of nursing that have been proposed and followed in hospitals throughout the country, and provide a frame of reference for your own beliefs and methods of nursing. You will learn about the major nursing theorists of the 20th century and since, and how to formulate your own models of nursing in order to be a more effective caregiver and medical assistant.

The Parts of a Nursing Model

All nursing theories or models have several essential parts. In order to be considered a valid nursing theory, a model must include a method of assessment to determine a patient's individual needs, and a method of implementing and measuring appropriate patient care. Most nursing models can be used to produce a care plan that will document a patient's treatment by all the healthcare professionals and workers who come into contact with him or her. The care plan should be flexible, so that it can be changed and evaluated daily as the patient's needs and abilities change.
The care plans themselves will be shaped by the theories behind the nursing model. Care plans fall roughly into five categories: metatheories, grand theories, mid-range theories, min-theories and micro theories, in order from the range of factors considered.

A Brief History of Nursing Theories

Originally, the role of the nurse was to carry out the orders of a physician. Nursing theories that arose from this model of patient care were essentially biomedical and focused on treating diseases rather than patients. These theories allowed little variation in care based on a patient's individual needs and abilities. The biomedical theories of nursing assume that all patients with the same illness have the same problems and require the same care. These theories do not take into account differences in patient knowledge and abilities due to socioeconomic, psychological or cultural differences.

Social models of nursing, by contrast, consider the patient from varying degrees of holistic viewpoints. They take into account differences among patients due to culture, economic and social status and other factors. One of the first nursing theorists, though her work is only considered a body of 'nursing theory" in retrospect, was Florence Nightingale, who published her thoughts on nursing during the Crimean War in, Notes on Nursing: What it Is and What it Is Not, in 1859.

Nightingale's beliefs about nursing have influenced the shape of the profession for well over 150 years. She was the first to view the nurse as more than a servant carrying out the orders of a physician, but rather as a caregiver in her own right, who could manipulate the environment and situation to influence the patient's well-being. Since then, there have been many models of nursing proposed and accepted by various communities and types of nursing. The most familiar names in nursing theory include Madeleine Leininger, who brought concerns of recognizing cultural needs into nursing care, and Hildegard Peplau, who introduced the idea of nursing roles and the nurse-client relationship as major influences in quality of nursing care.

Using Nursing Theory in the Real World

As a student nurse, you will be expected to learn about and be able to describe various bodies of work and knowledge about nursing and nursing theories. Some programs may require you to develop and articulate your own nursing theory to help you formulate nursing care and nursing plans, and differentiate yourself as a nursing professional. In the real world, however, you will often find that different fields of nursing subscribe to specific theories of nursing.

While there is a great deal of semantic debate about whether the abundance of "nursing theory" is beneficial to the profession or splits it needlessly, there is no doubt that the study of nursing theory can help you understand nursing as a profession from multiple viewpoints, and can afford you the capability to begin to formulate your own concept of what it means to be a nurse, and how your actions fit into a full plan to best care for your patients.

Last-Minute Fun & Easy Party Games & Activities to Make Your Kids Birthday a Hit!
You set the date and sent out the invitations with the greatest of intentions of planning the perfect birthday party for your child. Then somehow time got away from you, the date is fast approaching, and youve done little more than buy the gifts and order the cake.

If this sounds like you, you're not alone. Parents everywhere are struggling to keep up with all the daily household and career responsibilities while taking care of the seemingly endless to-do list that comes along with parenting. In a bad economy, this becomes even more of a challenge. However, all is not lost. You can still throw a great party with plenty of fun activities that will earn your child bragging rights and have his or her friends talking about the fantastic time they had long after the party's over.

Todays generation of parents have a secret weapon on their side that gives them an edge that their parents didn't have -- the Internet. We'll tell you how to save time and surf the web to quickly locate a full day's worth of fun, and often free, interactive activities to make your child's party truly unique and memorable without leaving the comfort of your home.

Below are just a few of the game ideas that are sure to be a hit, are ready to play, and just a click away:

Embark on a Treasure Hunt - Kids of all ages love to solve puzzles, follow a trail of clues, and race to track down hidden loot, and a classic printable treasure hunt with fun and clever pre-made clues is the perfect solution when you need an exciting party game quickly that children will love. An online treasure hunt can be simply downloaded, printed, and played instantly at minimal cost, and comes complete with a hiding guide to help you coordinate and pull off the perfect hunt that will bring your party to life! And don't limit yourself to birthdays these can be used to entertain your young children, teens, and their friends during sleepovers, on holidays, at picnics and while outdoors, on vacation, in the classroom, or for family fun night, plus there are many other themes to choose from. To learn more about how these hunts work and order online, visit http://www.treasure-adventure.com

Play the Pantomime Game This hilarious game will have children up on their feet and in all sorts of crazy positions as they attempt to mimic poses picked from a deck of printable cards. Its a great way to break the ice and get kids interacting while having fun and improving their coordination and creative thinking skills. All you need is a printer and flexible children ready to play. http://www.printgames.net/english/pdf_e/panto.pdf

Solve Puzzles & Word Games You can create your own personalized word searches, crossword games, or jigsaw puzzles based on your party theme. For example, for your child's birthday you might want to create a word search or puzzle containing your child's favorite things, for a music themed party use names or pictures of instruments, or for a pirate party have the kids search for pirate jargon or treasure items, etc., and award small prizes to the one who uncovers all the words first or completes the puzzle first. Several web sites exist that let you generate your own unique puzzles and word games. You can even add your own graphics and personalize with your child's name. To make your own word search puzzle you might try the web site http://www.billybear4kids.com/jigsaw-puzzles/WorkSheetMachine/WordSearchMachine.html, create your own jigsaw photo puzzle using a generator like that found at"flash-gear", or build a fun and challenging crossword puzzleusing "edhelper" online.

Compete in the Paper Airplane Olympics -- Have each child create a paper airplane, and then let them decorate their aircraft with their own personal style. You can divide the pilots into fighter teams or play as individuals. The planes then are raced through the air towards a target and judged in 3 different categories: best appearance, greatest distance in flight, and most accurate. The kids will love showing off their artwork and sending their airplanes soaring. The best part is all you need is some paper and crayons! Learn how to fold airplanes online at "wonderhowto" website.

"Capture the Spoons" This is a fast-paced exciting and very popular card game that is perfect for large groups. All you need is one or two decks of cards depending on the size of your party, and kitchen spoons for all but one of your players. The kids form a circle and rapidly pick and pass along discarded cards trying to get 4 of a kind while keeping an eye on the spoons and other players in the event someone else gets 4 first. The first person to get 4 of a kind then tries to sneak away one of the spoons that have been placed in the center. Once one spoon is taken, the rest of the children must all dive into the center to get a spoon before they're gone, and the one left without a spoon is either out of the game (shorter version) or given a letter each time, starting with "S," until "SPOONS" is spelled and they're out of the game (longer version). Don't forget to include this easy classic party game that is a sure-fire winner that kids will love! Full rules are available online at "about boardgames"

Do-it-yourself party planning becomes a breeze when you take advantage of all the free and inexpensive kids games and activities that can be found on the world wide web that are perfect for livening up any children's party without the stress of last-minute shopping in crowded stores with limited time and paying high prices for party games or party planners.

Hidden Picture Puzzles
Mind Puzzles In Books

Mind games will wake us up and help keep our brains and minds working and full of life. Keeping our minds active will help keep us from aging and helps to keep the memory process from slowing down.

There are many diverse kinds of mind games that you can buy or create your own. You can buy books of all kinds at most stores where magazines and books are sold. These mind games come in word search, crossword, and numbers as well.

Word search books that you buy can be bought by the different editions, or by the month depending on your preference. The different editions come out at different times of the year like every three months.

The monthly ones are published every month some are based on levels depending how much experience or age group you are in. Getting the zigzag word or number search are more advanced and harder than the ones that are in straight lines.

One the side of the puzzles of letters or numbers is a list and you search for each one as you go. Sometimes these words will be off by themselves or you might find them connected to another word. They also come in different size prints as well with small prints to the larger prints for those who have a hard time seeing.

Crossword, mind puzzle books are published by the month or edition as well. These books and puzzles can be bought by the level of learning and activity too. Usually they are rated using starts one to four. The higher the stars the higher the level and harder they are to complete. Crossword puzzles make you think, or maybe research for the write word in a dictionary or another source to give a more test for your memory. By having to investigate for the right words you will be leaning new things and skills on how words can be used for different definitions.

Books using numbers are a challenge for different age and level groups as well. The numbers are not as easy as one would think. Searching for the numbers doesn't give you words that you can just say to yourself while looking for them.

Numbers don't come in any certain order so trying to find the right ones make it harder to locate them. The list usually starts out with just three or four number but as you go down the list, they get longer sometimes up to seven or eight numbers in a group. This will give a person the new skill of patience. You need a lot of patience to do the number books so don't think you will finish one book in a day.

You can find mind puzzle books with a variety of print sizes from pocket size to extra large size. Newspapers and free flyers have mind puzzles in the as well and they are free giving you a different one everyday to work on.

Beware mind puzzles can be addictive and challenging. Once you start doing one of these puzzles you"ll want to keep doing them. They will give you something to do for enjoyment when you just don't feel like working and want to keep your mind and hands busy. These puzzles are very entertaining so have fun and enjoy.

Create your own mind puzzle by grouping letter and see how many words you can find in the group of letters. This can be a challenge making you look for new words to add to your vocabulary with a list to go by. Your spelling will improve as well as give you mind an even bigger challenge.

3D Wooden Puzzles: Makes You And Your Child Creative
3D Wooden Puzzles: Makes You And Your Child Creative.

3D wooden puzzles are good time pass. It keeps you totally busy. If somebody tell you about 3D wooden puzzles the first thing that hits your mind is something like different precut pieces that you have to join together to make a meaningful picture. 3D wood puzzles are made for every age group.

The 3D wooden puzzles are easy for children and tough for adults. If adults start playing children's puzzles then it will make them bore as it is very easy. So adults should play tough puzzles so that they do not loose interest and children should play the puzzles that are made for children.

The design of 3D wooden puzzles is so good that when you solve it you will imagine that you are making different real things with your own hands. Imagine that you have world trade center, statue of liberty, submarine, dinosaur, dragon, etc all favorite collections that constructed with your own hand as 3D model. These puzzles are so tough that you will feel proud when you solve the puzzles.

3D wooden puzzles are constructed from plywood of good quality. A puzzle is put in wooden boards and all the assembling instructions are given but the solution of the puzzle is not given. You can get the solution of the puzzle online. So before starting off with the puzzle read all the instructions to assemble and then start working on it free 3d models. 3D wooden puzzles are best for overall development of a child.

It is very good to free up your mind from all the hassle and stress and it put pressure on mind of your child which make it sharp. This pressure is not like mental tension but children put pressure on mind to solve the puzzle. It also keeps them busy for whole day. 3D wooden puzzles are excellent educational tools for kids to improve hand-eye coordination, to develop different visualization and creativity, and to learn how to organize a work process.

There are different series of 3D model wooden puzzles. The series include dinosaur series, house series, animal series, landscape series, and symbols, series that make your child aware of the architectural world, sports series and many more. These series are designed for child's overall development.

It is the best educational gift for everybody and is packed in a good shaped box which is painted with beautiful colors. There are different puzzle sizes available for all age groups. You can opt to get it fully made or in the form of full puzzle with a single picture from which you can see the puzzle.

There are many different websites which are selling these types of 3D wooden puzzles. Just search on Google and you will find a pool of websites working in this field. You can buy these puzzles on discount and at your doorsteps. It is a very nice thing to educate your child.

Baby Showers Games Even Crossword Puzzles Make Great Fun Too!
If you are the person or at least one of the people involved in organizing a baby shower, you will need to be sure to include plenty of baby shower game ideas. Party games can make or break a baby shower, so start preparing early and search for fun and interesting game ideas. You will want to be as creative and unique as possible with baby shower games so that the guests have fun and are occupied. One of the most fun party games is crossword puzzles that you customize for this baby shower. You have many options for these types of shower games and you can use clues or questions like:Daddy to be's favorite sport
Mommy to be's occupation
Grandpa to be's middle name
Grandma to be's favorite hobby
Mommy to be's favorite food
Baby's first chosen name
Baby's due date
The name of baby's big sister or brother
How old is baby's big brother or sister?
What craving has the mommy to be had? Remember, to be creative with these kinds of games and dig a little for the questions or clues you need to use for your crossword puzzle. You can dig by asking the mommy to be (if you do not mind her knowing about it), family members or friends questions that can be used for the crossword puzzle you are using for one of your baby shower games. You will be surprised at how much information they are willing to give you for this kind of party game. Keep in mind that the guests love baby shower games that are different from the norm.

There are some things you will need to accomplish creating your shower games like a computer, crossword puzzle creator software, a printer, baby themed printer paper or at least some baby graphics. You will need a word processor and/or graphic editor to add the graphics to plain printer paper. When you are creating your crossword puzzle as one of your baby shower games, you need to make sure there are at least 15-20 clues or questions for the guests to answer. Including a prize to the winners of baby shower games is a great way to created interest and excitement at the party.

Anagrams And Answers In Cryptic Crosswords Cryptic crossword setters have more tricks up their sleeve than a cartload of monkeys and we who have to work them out have to try to get into their minds to think as laterally and as zanily as they do. Problem is of course that not every setter thinks the same way, and just as you think you're on top of one setter's style you'll encounter another's style that almost sends you back to scratch.

Solving the first clue is very important

Many a cryptic puzzler has been in the situation when, after looking through all the clues, nothing has immediately come to mind. Nothing! But after persistence they've solved one or two clues, built on them, and then gone on to solve the whole puzzle. The morals are solve that first clue or two & never give in.

Even if you solve only a few clues, look in tomorrow's paper for the answers and work out how they've been derived. That's far and away the best way to lift you skills so keep at it and you'll get there.

It's especially true for cryptics not to dwell too long on trying to solve a clue. If you're not getting anywhere with one clue move on quickly to the next before you get frustrated and want to give up entirely. Here are a couple of hints that may help you in your early days

HINT 1 - Have a go at the 4 or 5 letter answer words first because they're often (but not always mind you!) more easy than the others.

HINT 2 Look for clues that are framed in a fairly standard manner (Well, as standard as things get in cryptics!) such as clues with only 2 words like Just blonde where the answer has to suit both clue words in this case FAIR.

Here's another example for you to work out:
CLUE: Depressed fight (4) ANSWER: ???? (See below)

Another standard' clue is the anagram, and almost every cryptic crossword you'll ever do will have at least one anagram, so solving anagram clues is another good way to get started. So let's now look in detail at how anagrams are used.

Analysing The Anagram

Anagram is defined in the Macquarie Dictionary as a transposition of the letters of a word or sentence to form a new word or sentence

STRAW for example is an anagram of WARTS
DORMITORY is an anagram of DIRTY ROOM

Anagram clues can be identified by what we might call anagram pointer words, words in the clue that indicate that the letters of a word or phrase should be rearranged
Here are some common anagram pointer words that you should be on the lookout for:

ALTER/ED; ARRANGE/D; BROKE/N; COULD BE; CHANGE/D; CRUSH/ED; DOCTOR/ED; MAKE; MADE; OFF; OUT; REVISE/D; SHATTERED; SMASH/ED etc. But there are many more up the sleeves of our not so friendly' setters.

Here's one example of how an anagram clue might be posed:

CLUE: This bird will MAKE us legal (7) ANSWER: Seagull
There are two anagram indicators in this clue:
- the word MAKE
- the fact that the words us legal' contain the required number of letter to help us find our bird

It's important to note that there are two features common to EVERY anagram
1. the pointer word/s
2. the appropriate letter count

Anagram sidelines: Always looking to be tricky, setters sometimes use other anagrammatic ploys such as the two illustrated below.

(1) by having the anagram pointer, and the letters to be changed in the one word. In the example below the letters to be changed are underlined.

CLUE: Breakfast oils (4) ANSWER; Fats

(2) by having the anagram as just PART of the answer eg

CLUE: Police raids broke up the ball game (9)
ANSWER: Billiards (Police = BILL; raids broke' becomes IARDS)

So there's the anagram for you in its various forms. It's the cryptic setter's standby and often your friend - a great way to find your first answer allowing you to go on to bigger and better things.

Just What Is The Setter Looking For?

It's one thing not to know an answer to a question, but in cryptic crosswords you first have to know what the question is before you can go on to the answer. This is far and away the biggest issue for cryptic puzzlers and the setter's raison d'etre is to make it more difficult for you.

Your success as a puzzler is going to depend largely on your ability to see what the setter is looking for.

Much of the time you'll find clues where it appears that no question is being asked. For example:

CLUE 1: Swung hammer wide and led (7)
CLUE 2: Hear the new bit is baked clay (7)

I mean. Who do they think we are? The wording just doesn't make sense, but that's all part of the cryptic game. And where are the questions' in these two clues? you might well ask.

Fortunately in most clues there are some indicators (we'll call them answer' words or answer' pointers) that can lead you in the right direction so let's start thinking about them.

A Start To Finding The Answer' Words

The simplest example is when the clue is like a simple mathematical equation where verbs like is', are', for', produce', create', to be' etc are used like an equal (=) sign. They're constructed like this:

(Word or phrase) is/are/for (ie =) (Another word or phrase)

CLUE: Finnway queen IS (=) a pedlar(7)

Here's how the answer is built up to mean a pedlar'
Finn = HUCK;Way = ST ie a street; Queen = ER
ANSWER: HUCKSTER

The second sure-fire answer pointer words are words such as This', These', They', He', She', It', where the answer comes from the word/s that come immediately after them.

Here's a clue where both of the answer' indicators are evident

CLUE: These dogs ARE (=) born raptors ( 7)
These' indicates that the answer has to be some sort of dogs.
Born raptors' is how you build to that answer, ie
born' = B ( a common shorthand for born')
raptors' = EAGLES
Put them together and what do you get? BEAGLES, the very sort of dogs you're looking for

These two hints will get you started on finding answer' words.

Happy crypticking!