Sunday Times 4447 (Posted earlier)

[pilotsteve]

24A Term for "theater" introduced by blue comic before bit of skirt really oozing "it"? I have BURLESQUE but can't see the wordplay, can some kind soul help me?...
Lie-In King's noble answer:

Thought I had this when I filled in the grid, now I can't place the 'R' :-( ?

anag (comic) 'blue' + (bit of) s(kirt) + 'qu(it)e' (really, - 'it')

Can anyone "place the R"? Please!! :-)

[Lie-in King]

I tried, still unsure...

http://www.theanswerb.../Question1049306.html

[Haystack]

24 Burlesque
Blue comic = bule
bit of (s)kirt (r)eally
= que (it)
buRle(s)que
You had me puzzled too but I came across this on Crossword Clue Solver

[Lie-in King]

Hmm - I'm not fond of that as 'really' has to do double-duty as r(eally) & "quite"...

[Haystack]

I have to agree with you.

[Lie-in King]

Ta - as p'steve says, if I'm right it's tenuous at best, but for the life of me I can't see it otherwise - an off-day... :-)

[vallaw]

It would not be unknown for the Sunday Times cryptic to have a dodgy anagram - it happened with the infamous "All Fours" effort.

[crockshard]

And why is the "theater" in parentheses spelled as it is, misplacing the R in a British crossword?

[Lie-in King]

True - more hats, less speed...

[vallaw]

Theater I take as a signpost to look for a US-style answer eg "burlesque"

[pilotsteve]

Thanks to all for your efforts, but I am unsatisfied! Tending to agree with LIK. Oh well we tried!

[Paradigm]

I believe that the theater points to an American performance, and the traditional Burlesque was opened by a comic telling a few blue jokes followed by a bit of skirt doing a striptease. Not the type of clue expected in this crossword, but the cryptic explanations just do not add up.