Note: I have deliberately used setters' pseudonyms in the below article rather than their real names because... reasons.
One clue type that has not been touched on in the above writeups is that of the &lit.
&lit. stands for "and literally so". The notion behind these clues is that the entire clue features as a definition, and the entire clue also functions as wordplay. The name comes from the notion that these clues, once identified, could be read out and followed by the phrase "and literally so". &lit.s are another clue that Ximenes didn't like (probably) as the ideal clue has definition AND wordplay completely exclusive from the definition AND nothing else. Nevertheless, these clues are often incredibly elegant and are a good way for cryptic crossword setters to earn their stripes in the community.
How they work
Most often, the wordplay elements of &lit.s are charades, but it is possible to build an &lit. around addition, subtraction, anagram, container/contents, hidden word, reversal, or abbreviation/initialism indicators (and their subsequent fodder). It is very unusual to have an &lit. based around a homophone and, almost by definition, basically impossible for an &lit. to be based around a cryptic pun or double-definition. Being one of the more difficult clue types to solve, it is (probably thankfully) a rare type - expect most crosswords to contain not more than one, if any. &lit. clues are usually (but not always) indicated with some kind of punctuation mark, often (but not always) an exclamation mark. This does help a little in their identification, however it is often up to the setter (and editor) as to whether this is a convention or not.
Here are some examples of &lit.s - at time of writing I have not been able to track down the correct authors to some clues as they are often used as gold standard examples of &lit. clues and have been used, uncited, in so many different publications. (If anybody knows the correct authors, please let me know!)
- Unknown setter: God incarnate, essentially! (4) - answer is ODIN. The wordplay is a simple hidden word with "essentially" as the indicator.
- Unknown setter: I'm a leader of Muslims! (4) - answer is IMAM. This one is a charade with I'm = IM, a = A, and leader of Muslims = M. An imam, in Islam, is a prayer leader.
- DA: Partial set closer?! (3) - answer is ETC. Another simple hidden word with "partial" as the indicator. The string "etc." is often used to denote the ending of a partially-listed set of objects.
- Unknown setter: Spoil vote! (4) - answer is VETO. Simple anagram with "spoil" as the anagrind1 and "vote" as the fodder.
- Symptomatic: The bottom of the chest, roughly! (5) - answer is TORSO. Both definition and wordplay on their own are a bit non-Ximenean in nature, but it's another charade with the bottom of the chest = T, and roughly = OR SO. The torso is, erm, "roughly" around the bottom of one's chest.
- Monocle: soLVer!! pUrchASe amaZing,, MorTGage _LeadS! (4) - answer is SPAM. The wordplay is a simple initialism clue with "LeadS"... erm, "leads" as the indicator. Though the standalone words do not give a definition, the choice of punctuation certainly does.
- Unknown setter: Terribly angered? (7) - answer is ENRAGED. Note the lack of exclamation mark. The wordplay is a simple anagram with "terribly" as the anagrind and "angered" as the fodder.
One must not confuse &lit.s with "partial &lit.s" - the definition is partially embedded in the wordplay, but not fully. One from Alberich runs as follows:
They give resistance to Tories violently? (7)
The answer of RIOTERS is a charade/anagram - resistance = R makes up the charade portion along with the joiner words "give" and "to", and the anagram portion has "violently" as the anagrind and "Tories" as the fodder. However, the word "They" is not used in the wordplay portion. A good writer of this type of clue - most often using anagrams - is a writer whose pseudonym I presume is DMS (but known as @7upislemonade on Twitter).
1 Abbreviated form of ANAGRam INDicator. The clue type is so common in the UK and Antipodes (and presumably other Commonwealth or former Commonwealth countries) that the phrase "anagram indicator" gets thrown around a lot, so much so that it has its own shorthand.