indirect anagram

plural indirect anagrams

1. crosswordingA cryptic device, forbidden in most publications, in which the word to be anagrammed is not present in the wordplay.

   Most setters do try to avoid indirect anagrams, though.

   2012 June 13, Denise Sutherland, Solving Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 105

   2 more examples

   ... the importance of sound clues: how they must be syntactically correct and how we must shun the indirect anagram and other unfair devices.

   1977, Games & Puzzles

   Never will you be expected to scramble a word that's not presented in the clue. Such a sin is known as the indirect anagram.

   2012 November 1, David Astle, Puzzled: Secrets and clues from a life in words, Profile Books, →ISBN