Bread ad. craftily rubbed off (7) Crossword Clue
Answer: ABRADED (7 letters)
The answer to the crossword clue "Bread ad. craftily rubbed off" with 7 letters is "ABRADED".Abraded means worn down or scraped away, often through friction, such as the surface of something being roughened or eroded. In the context of the clue, it refers to something being craftily or subtly rubbed off, like the action of rubbing away a surface to wear it down.
Why “Abraded” Fits
The clue asks for a single word (7 letters) meaning “rubbed off,” with the phrase “Bread ad. craftily” as a signal for wordplay. The answer, ABRADED, fits exactly:
- Rubbed off: Abraded means worn down, scraped, or rubbed off through friction — a clear match for the definition.
- Direct match: With seven letters, abraded perfectly matches the clue’s enumeration.
- Wordplay: The phrase “Bread ad. craftily” indicates an anagram; “craftily” is the anagram indicator, and rearranging BREAD AD gives ABRADED.
The word abrade and its past participle abraded are descriptive in both physical and figurative contexts:
- Origin and usage: From Latin abradere (“to scrape off”), combining ab- (“away”) and radere (“to scrape”).
- Contexts: Common in scientific, industrial, and medical language where surfaces are worn down by use or erosion.
- Examples: “The stones were abraded smooth by constant water flow,” or “The skin was slightly abraded by contact with rough fabric.”
Quick crossword clues like “Bread ad. craftily rubbed off (7)” often rely on neat anagram structures:
- The main definition (“rubbed off”) sets the meaning.
- “Craftily” signals an anagram.
- The letters of “BREAD AD” rearranged produce ABRADED.
- The simplicity of the surface reading disguises the anagram cleverly, typical of well-set Quick clues.
- With perfect wordplay, accurate definition, and exact enumeration, abraded is the correct crossword solution.
