22 across
Titanic
orchestra
perhaps,
and
what
they
didn’t
do
(7,4)
Titanic orchestra perhaps, and what they didn’t do (7,4)
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The whole clue is the definition (& lit or double definition).
How the clue works
This is a brilliantly layered clue. Titanic orchestra perhaps gives us "A BAND ON SHIP" — literally a band (orchestra) on a ship. Meanwhile, what they didn't do refers to ABANDON SHIP, because the famous Titanic musicians famously kept playing and never abandoned ship. The answer ABANDON SHIP reads as both "A BAND ON SHIP" (charade of A + BAND + ON + SHIP) and the phrase meaning to evacuate a vessel — which the orchestra notoriously refused to do.