Crossword Genius

Private chat in centre — listen with child outside (5-2-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

heart-to-heart

'private chat' is the definition.
(private or intimate conversation)

'centre listen with child outside' is the wordplay.
'centre' becomes 'heart' (synonyms).
'listen with' becomes 'hear' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'with' bit.).
'child' becomes 'tot' (term for a young child).
'outside' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'hear' put into 'tot' is 'toheart'.
'heart'+'toheart'='HEART-TO-HEART'

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for heart-to-heart that I've seen before include "Intimate conversation" , "Candid conversation" , "Intimate talk" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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