Crossword Genius

Conspiracy cutting India out of experimental programme (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

plot

'conspiracy' is the definition.
(I know that conspiracy can be written as plot)

'india out of experimental programme' is the wordplay.
'india' becomes 'i' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'out of' is a deletion indicator.
'experimental programme' becomes 'pilot' (I've seen this before).
'pilot' with 'i' taken away is 'PLOT'.

'cutting' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to another bit of the clue.

(Other definitions for plot that I've seen before include "Small piece of ground" , "Patch of ground" , "Draw (graph)" , "Small area of ground" , "Story or piece of land" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app