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Fcm, glad we could help.

9d Civil service publishers stop English lines and kill US reserve (10,6)

STATION (stop) E (English) RY (railway) OFF (?) ICE (kill)

From whence does the OFF come?

Kill gives OFF. US reserve is ICE (as in "put on ice")

Thanks chrise, but I still don't get it. In what world is 'kill' a synonym for 'off'? And 'put on ice' as in postpone, is not a particularly US expression, although I baulk at simply 'ice'.

I might add that the Staionary Office is not a civil service operation either, having been privatised 30 years ago.

OFF for kill is US "mobspeak"

Bobdown, kill = off is a pretty familiar synonym in crosswords, it's used quite often. Chambers confirms the validiity ('off-to kill, US slang').

Many thanks guys. American mobsters are not part of my cultural references, but I will add the terms to my collection of setters' synonyms, abbreviations, and tropes. They are repeated so often one ought not to forget them. At the moment 'Rani' appears to be a particular favourite.

Thanks, Bobdown. Yes, we (solvers) can have our own little collections of favourites or frequently used words. I got heartily sick of of Epee, Eten and Etui, it was good when some of them went off for a rest.