Making anagrams click
A repeatable scan for fodder, indicators, and the letter you keep losing.
Find the fodder first
An anagram clue contains a contiguous or clearly grouped set of letters, followed by a signal such as “wild”, “mixed”, or “out”. Count the letters before solving. The enumeration often rules out more candidates than the definition. For **“Wild RATES, animal (5)”**, WILD is the indicator and RATES is the fodder. ASTER, RATES, TARES, and TEARS all fit the letter count, but only one should satisfy the definition. The parse should name both the fodder and the indicator.
Sort the letters
Group repeated letters and common pairs. A candidate must have exactly the same multiset of letters. If one letter is unaccounted for, check whether a short word is included or an abbreviation is being used.
Use the definition late
Generate plausible forms from the fodder, then test them against the definition. This prevents the first synonym that comes to mind from bending the wordplay.