Crosswords for beginners: meet the letter M

You’ve met A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K and L. Now it’s time for the voiced bilabial nasal, better known as M.

Morning, M. Got any missions for me?
Mm, you’re making a Bond reference, I think. Sorry, but it’s not really my place to …

Don’t mention it. Just a bon mot. You materialise quite a lot in crosswords.
Hmm, I’m actually right in the middle, when it comes to letter frequency.

I meant more that there are many words that appear in clues that might indicate an M in the answer. A T-shirt is MEDIUM, a family tree is MARRIED, a dictionary is MASCULINE and so on. But why don’t you tell us about your life?
Mm-hm, OK. Since you mention “masculine”, in Anglo-Saxon runes, I’m ᛗ, which means “man”, although before that I was a wiggly line named MEM; the Phoenicians used me to mean “water”. I mean, they probably did. It was many moons ago.

Water, I see. Is that because you’re wishy-washy?
What do you mean?

Ignore me. Unlike C, say, if a down clue gives us an M in an across answer, we know how you will be pronounced there.
Mostly. I’m silent at the beginning of words like “mnemonic”.

Words like “mnemonic” … and?
Hmmm, Mnium? It’s a moss genus. Of the family Mniaceae. I don’t think either has ever been used in a crossword, I just thought I’d mention it. Oh, and sometimes there’s a “mm” sound when I’m not in the answer. Like CHICKENPOX or GUNPOWDER.

Is there? I suppose. Do you have many mates?
Which letters do I mingle with? It varies. If you’ve got me from a crossing answer, I’ll probably be followed by a vowel, most likely E; otherwise, think about P. If you do find me as part of an MP, I’ll be preceded by a vowel. Um, or sometimes an R.

Sometimes?
Erm, armpit.

I know there’s another.
Ringworm porrigo?

Moving on. What kind of words in a clue might mean an M in the answer?
Well, there’s a thousand. Not 1,000 words; the word “thousand”. Although, of course, “thousand” might equally mean there’s a K, because …

I think we want to offer less ambiguous advice. Allow me: MILLION. Also, from measuring: METRE, MILES, MASS. Then we have MONTH …
… um, month could be MAY. Or MAR, actually.

Let’s go international. There’s MIKE via the Nato alphabet and MARK from the currency. The car sticker gives us MALTA, and “monsieur” gives us FRENCHMAN. “Frenchman” might also mean LUC or RENE.

And there’s MARRIED. Oh, and MEMBER. And, yes, before you mention it, M: “member” might also be MP. Wishy-washy point taken.
And MBE. Also ARM and LEG. Another abbreviation for member is my original name, MEM. Which is where we came in. I mean, roughly. There was the bit about the spymaster first.

Maybe a good place to leave things for now.
Agreed. Although …

Mañana, M.

More guidance

Cryptic devices: hidden answers; double definitions; cryptic definitions; soundalikes; initial letters; spoonerisms; containers; reversals; alternate letters; cycling; stuttering; taking most of a word; naked words; first and last letters

Bits and bobs: Roman numerals; Nato alphabet; Greek letters; chemistry; abbreviations for countries; points of the compass; playing cards; capital letters; apostrophes; cricket; alcohol; the church; royals; newspapers; doctors; drugs; music; animals; cars; cities; rivers; boats; when the setter’s name appears; when the solver appears; “cheating”

Individual letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L

The Shipping Forecast Puzzle Book by Alan Connor, which is partly but not predominantly cryptic, can be obtained from the Guardian Bookshop.