The clue comes from a British Cryptic Crossword, so you know it’s going to be a sly one: Gather a complement, say. There’s a bit of wordplay here that can stop even an experienced solver in their tracks, and it certainly did with me. I had to think long and hard before the penny dropped. That is the thing with cryptics as they lure you into reading a clue one way, only for the real meaning to be hiding somewhere else entirely. I am even willing to bet you are misreading “complement” here, too. With that in mind, here’s the answer to the “Gather a complement, say” clue.
Gather a Complement Say Crossword Clue Answer
ACCRUE is the answer to the “Gather a complement, say” clue.
To see why accrue works here, let us break the clue apart. Whenever you see “say” in a crossword clue, it’s often an indicator for some trickery or wordplay. Then there is “complement”, which is meant to throw you off by making you think of “compliment” – praise – but that’s just the wrong spelling and the wrong meaning. They are homophonse.
“Complement” here means something that completes or adds to something else. So “gather a complement” is just another way of saying “accumulate additions” which is exactly what accrue means: to gather or pile up over time.
