Crossword Genius

Survey play area and church (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

recce

'survey' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'play area and church' is the wordplay.
'play area' becomes 'rec' (short for recreation ground).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'church' becomes 'CE' (abbreviation for Church of England).
'rec'+'ce'='RECCE'

(Other definitions for recce that I've seen before include "Scout" , "Military survey" , "Survey (sl.)" , "Case" , "Survey to obtain information" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.