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Delighted as result of well-crafted scenes, applaud hard (7,2,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pleased as punch

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'delighted' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'as result of well-crafted scenes applaud hard' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'as' is present in the answer.
'hard' could be 'h' (abbreviation used in pencil classifications) and 'h' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pleased as punch that I've seen before include "Euphoric" , "content" , "Highly delighted" , "Thrilled" , "over the moon" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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