Crossword Genius

Help close a hotel in the country (4,1,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lend a hand

'help' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'close a hotel in the country' is the wordplay.
'close' becomes 'end' (I've seen this before**).
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'in the' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'country' becomes 'land' ('land' can be a synonym of 'country').
'end'+'a'+'h'='endah'
'endah' placed inside 'land' is 'LEND A HAND'.

(Other definitions for lend a hand that I've seen before include "temporarily transfer an employee" , "Provide help" , "Pitch in" , "To assist" , "Give assistance" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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