Solution for 5 May cryptic crossword clue

Commanding Officer taken round state capital (5)

Solution – Cairo

Commanding Officer = the abbreviation CO

Put that “around” something meaning “state” – it has to be 3 letters long.

So CO around “air” which can mean “state” gets you cairo – which is the capital of Egypt.

The misleading bit of the clue is that you could easily think the answer was the name of a “state capital”.


This is an example of a container clue.  For a more detailed discussion of container clues, click here

For the next clue in the series, click here