Crossword Genius

Broke out of purdah (4,2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hard up

'broke' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'of purdah' is the wordplay.
'of' indicates an anagram (the answer comes from or 'of' the letters).
'purdah' with letters rearranged gives 'HARD-UP'.

'out' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for hard up that I've seen before include "Panto Baron; needy" , "Badly-off" , "Having little money, almost skint" , "Out of funds - it's tough" , "Strapped for cash, it's tough" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.
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