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FT weekend magazine 17/18 Feb
17D Soldiers face number inside first, for instance (7)

Answer (which I guessed) was ORDINAL

I get that 'first' is an example of an ordinal number, but can someone explain the "soldiers face"?

RA Royal artillery?
Ordinance?

OR - soldiers - Other Ranks
N - njmber
in
DIAL- face

Soldiers = or, other ranks.
Face = dial.
Number = n

OR never heard that before
Is that a crossword convention?
Face = dial - okay I should have got that
And with N inside... Yes
But "OR" is not something I've ever seen
Hmmmm

OR is common use for soldiers in cryptic crosswords

This is the sort of thing that puts people off crosswords.

I hope not. Here is a helpful list which you could use for future reference.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossword_abbreviations#Clues_beginning_with_O

Reference or cheating?
I prefer to use what's in my head.
Likewise with obscure "blue precious stone" references. I refuse to look them up.
Stubborn, me...

Yes, I agree that we should all use our brains , but sometimes there is no harm in asking for help here. Is that cheating ? I don't know :)