Crossword Genius

A firm universal glue reduced soundproofing? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

acoustic

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'a firm universal glue reduced soundproofing?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'a firm universal glue reduced' is the wordplay.
'firm universal' becomes 'cou' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'glue' becomes 'stick' (I've seen this before).
'reduced' means to remove the last letter.
'stick' with its final letter taken away is 'stic'.
'a'+'cou'+'stic'='ACOUSTIC'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for acoustic that I've seen before include "Like sound" , "dispensing with amps?" , "Relating to sound/hearing" , "Of the physical properties of sound" , "Pertaining to hearing" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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