Here is the secret that unlocks every cryptic: a clue is always two clues in one. Find the seam between them and the rest falls into place.
Every cryptic clue is made of two parts:
A plain synonym for the answer, exactly like an ordinary crossword. It is always at the very start or the very end of the clue - never in the middle.
The rest of the clue. It builds the same answer a second way, using one of the wordplay tricks you will meet in Step 2. An indicator word usually tells you which trick.
Both halves point to the same word. Your job: decide where the definition ends and the wordplay begins.
The (6) at the end tells you the answer has six letters. (3,4) means a three-letter word then a four-letter word. Always count - it rules out a lot of guesses.
1. Read the clue and look at the start and end. One of them is a plain definition. Which reads like a normal synonym?
2. Whatever is left is the wordplay. Hunt for an indicator - a word like wildly, in, back, we hear - to learn which trick.
3. Use the trick on the remaining words to build the answer. Check it against the letter count and the definition.
4. Stuck? That is what the Editorial Desk are for - he will point out the definition, the indicator, or the fodder, one nudge at a time.