Crossword Genius

Effectively manage to ladder a pantihose's upper thigh (3,1,5,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

run a tight ship

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'effectively manage' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't tell whether this works.

'ladder a pantihose's upper thigh' is the wordplay.
'ladder' becomes 'run' (both can mean a tear in tights).
'pantihose' becomes 'tights' (I've seen this before).
'upper thigh' becomes 'hip' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'run'+'a'+'tights'+'hip'='RUN A TIGHT SHIP'

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for run a tight ship that I've seen before include "Have a disciplined organisation" , "after being too free with the rum ration?" , "Be in control of an efficient organisation" , "Oversee an efficient body" , "maintain discipline" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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