Can a student put hat before a short cut? (6,5)
I believe the answer is:
panama canal
'can a student' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'hat before a short cut?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'hat' could be 'panama' (panama is a kind of hat) and 'panama' is located in the answer.
'cut?' could be 'canal' (cut is a kind of canal) and 'canal' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'put' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for panama canal that I've seen before include "Waterway link" , "Busy waterway" , "Central American waterway" , "Pacific-Caribbean link" , "Atlantic/Pacific waterway" .)