Crossword Genius

Ring shortly to collect bread in Cairo, perhaps (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

capital

'cairo perhaps' is the definition.
(cairo is a kind of capital)

'ring shortly to collect bread' is the wordplay.
'ring' becomes 'call' (synonyms).
'shortly' means to remove the last letter.
'to collect' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters are collected by others).
'bread' becomes 'pita' (pita bread is a kind of bread).
'call' with its last letter removed is 'cal'.
'cal' enclosing 'pita' is 'CAPITAL'.

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for capital that I've seen before include "savings" , "A country's main city" , "Chief; excellent" , "Metropolis" , "A big letter, or a big city" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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