prompter: I'm trying to understand an answer to a cryptic crossword that I've been trying to solve.  The clue is:

"Aircraft whirling, cheer pilot! (10)"

and apparently, the answer is "helicopter".

Could you explain this answer for me please?

assistant: The clue "Aircraft whirling, cheer pilot!" is a cryptic way of describing a helicopter, which is a type of aircraft that rotates its blades in a whirling motion. The word "cheer" is a homophone (a word that sounds the same as another word) for "hear", which is a reference to the sound that a helicopter makes. Putting it together, "hear" + "pilot" = "helicopter". So, "Aircraft whirling, cheer pilot!" is a cryptic way of describing the word "helicopter".

prompter: Helicopter is an anagram of "cheer pilot", and a helicopter is an aircraft. Cryptic clues will also use words, like "whirling", to indicate an anagram. So the clue, "Aircraft whirling, cheer pilot" is saying that you are looking for a type of aircraft by "whirling" the letters of the phrase "cheer pilot".

assistant: Thank you for your correction and I apologize for the mistake! "Cheer pilot" is indeed an anagram for "helicopter", and "aircraft whirling" serves as a hint in this riddle.

assistant: Good job.
What else do you need?

assistant: 'Aircraft Whirling' significantly reduces the number of possible things to both an object that Flies, as well as one that has a Whirling aspect. Whirling itself is an act of spinning, and many would agree - in this particular context - is likely Rotors. While I am unsure of how cheer is used here, pilot also indicates that there is an operator within said vehicle. According to Wikipedia's 'Rotorcraft' page, the only candidate with 10 letters is 'Helicopter'.

prompter: Could you explain more simply? I'm having a hard time understanding.

assistant: Yes, sure! The clue "Aircraft whirling, cheer pilot!" is an example of a cryptic crossword puzzle clue. Cryptic crossword clues often have a double meaning and the words in the clue can be used to form the answer.

In this clue, the words "aircraft whirling" can refer to a type of aircraft that is able to spin around, and "cheer pilot" can be interpreted as "helicopter". So, when you put the two together, you get "helicopter".

Cryptic crosswords can be challenging, but they are also a lot of fun to solve once you understand the way the clues work.

prompter: I still don't get it. How can "cheer pilot" be interpreted as "helicopter"? And a helicopter isn't really an aircraft that spins - the rotors are spinning. Please go into detail on both of these.

assistant: I apologize for not being clearer. "cheer pilot" is a word play for "helicopter", because you can form "helicopter" from the letters present in "cheer pilot". As for "aircraft whirling", it actually refers to the spinning of the rotors and not the aircraft body itself.

Overall, the clue "Aircraft whirling, cheer pilot!" is an attempt at concealing the answer using a mix of cleverness and a play on words for "helicopter".

assistant: 'Cheer pilot' is an anagram of 'helicopter', the letters of one can be rearranged to form the other.  The phrase 'cheer pilot' is vaguely related to aircraft, perhaps suggesting that it's fun to fly a helicopter.  That arguably fulfills the artistic goal of anagrams being related to the original word in a creative or interesting way.

assistant: Aircraft whirling = copter (short form of hellicopter)

Cheer pilot = (say) hello

So we get hellocopter but there is no such word and its too long so it must be helicopter.