Crossword Genius

Make economies, and ditch engineers first (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

retrench

'make economies' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'ditch engineers first' is the wordplay.
'ditch' becomes 'trench' (trench is a kind of ditch**).
'engineers' becomes 're' (Royal Engineers).
'first' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'trench' after 're' is 'RETRENCH'.

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for retrench that I've seen before include "Cut back (on costs)" , "Cut down expenditure" , "Cut back, tighten one's belt" , "Conserve or cut down" , "Trim back" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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