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“Fruit from Panama about 20 times.” ... the answer I have is STRAWBERRY based on other letters and fruit. Is the Panama straw hat involved? And what does “about 20 times” refer to??

The puzzle does have a clue #20, but I don't see how it applies:

  1. Wrongly reckon clematis should be trained around aluminium and copper

with answer MISCALCULATE.

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    $\begingroup$ Hi Ger, what type of puzzle did you find this in: a cryptic crossword, specifically? This might be useful context for us. Also, is there a clue numbered '20' in the puzzle? If so, what was the answer to that? Sometimes clues containing numbers refer to other answers within the puzzle - could be useful to know. Thanks :) $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 14:06
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    $\begingroup$ Hi Stiv. It is from a Cryptic Crossword. There is a clue no.20 but its answer is “miscalculate” from “Wrongly reckon clematis should be trained around aluminium and copper.” So I don’t see a connection. $\endgroup$
    – Ger Green
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 14:41
  • $\begingroup$ Ha, yeah that would be a long shot with that #20! A quick search on the web for your clue pulls up several results suggesting that your answer is the intended one; however, nowhere can I find a page with any kind of explanation why, and the wordplay doesn't seem immediately obvious. The "20 times" is particularly mystifying. Maybe another cryptic enthusiast on this site may have further ideas. Let's see! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 14:48
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    $\begingroup$ Thanks Stiv. At least I don’t feel too bad now that I’m not the only one puzzled by it. I can usually get correct answers eventually and fully understand the clue. But this clue has me stumped... even with the answer! $\endgroup$
    – Ger Green
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 14:53

1 Answer 1

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Fruit from Panama about 20 times =

FRUIT = STRAWBERRY

* from Panama = STRAW, because a Panama hat (which is actually from Ecuador) is a straw hat, which can be shortened to just "straw" (definition 4a)
* about = indicates around
* 20 = refers to answer 20, miscalculate = ERR
* times = BY
* BY about ERR = BERRY

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    $\begingroup$ Oof, I think you got it! +1 Turns out that '20' really did need some context then. Amazed that this clue has ended up in the online searches given that it's entirely dependent on this specific puzzle. Really fills you with confidence about them! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 16:15
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    $\begingroup$ I got the rest but how does from Panama = STRAW? $\endgroup$
    – Kevin
    Commented Oct 13, 2020 at 13:35
  • $\begingroup$ @Kevin Panamanian Hat is a straw hat $\endgroup$
    – Anthony Ingram-Westover
    Commented Oct 13, 2020 at 14:36
  • $\begingroup$ @Kevin Also straw can stand for straw hat, at least in my dictionary. Straw -> straw hat -> Panama. The trouble is that you have to do this backwards when solving. $\endgroup$
    – richardb
    Commented Oct 13, 2020 at 16:31
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    $\begingroup$ But Panama hats are from Ecuador $\endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Commented Oct 13, 2020 at 18:11

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