Cautious (of)

As a detective trying to solve the mystery of the crossword clue ‘Cautious (of)’, the first thing I did was to identify possible synonyms of the word ‘cautious’. Some of the words that came to mind were ‘careful’, ‘wary’, and ‘prudent’. The next step was to focus on the phrase ‘(of)’, which indicated that we needed to find a word that would complete the phrase ‘cautious of.’ This led me to narrow down the list of options, and the word ‘chary’ popped into my mind.

Chary, meaning cautious or wary, perfectly fits the given clue as it naturally completes the phrase ‘cautious of’. With this answer, we can see how the thought process of a detective can involve expanding on their vocabulary, paying close attention to relationships between words, and keeping an open mind about different possibilities. Ultimately, the process of solving a crossword puzzle is an engaging and exciting challenge, but it requires a keen eye and a sense of creativity, which are important traits for any detective on the hunt for clues.