Crossword Genius

Purge after bribe by house of old dramatist (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sophoclean

'of old dramatist' is the definition.
(relating to Sophocles)

'purge after bribe by house' is the wordplay.
'purge' becomes 'clean'.
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'bribe' becomes 'sop' (sop can mean a concession or bribe).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'house' becomes 'ho' (abbreviation for house).
'sop'+'ho'='sopho'
'clean' after 'sopho' is 'SOPHOCLEAN'.

(Other definitions for sophoclean that I've seen before include "like Antigone?" , "typical of an old poet" , "Like playwright's" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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