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Lock-up keeps a pretense, starting off dry area? (6,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sahara desert

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

'area?' is the definition.
(Sahara Desert is an example)

'lock-up keeps a pretense starting off dry' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'dry' could be 'desert' (I've seen this before) and 'desert' is found in 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 sahara desert that I've seen before include "Dry region of Africa" , "Uncultivated region of north Africa" , "World's largest sandy area" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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