£4,000, Say, To Create A Tool

[satprof]

Today's seemingly simple Alphapuzzle cryptic clue.

[JJ109]

Fork

Four K

[bobbinwales]

Fork

[emmie]

fork

[bhg481]

Could it also be forge? four G

[emmie]

could be bhg?

[Dummyfluter]

Confirm FORK

[satprof]

JJ109 got in first, but thanks also to bobbinwales & to emmie.

Breaking into the puzzle is a bit tricky as there are six suitable 4-letter grid positions. These divide into three that end with an 8 and three that start with 19. As 8 is very frequent, it's unlikely to be K whereas 19 is infrequent and could reasonably be F.

From there on it's a matter of trying out various combinations, but 12 is a doubled letter, which helps find the correct solution.

[emmie]

that's good SP

[mouseymick]

Fork .. 19,12,15,3 .. Q is 4 and Z is 1. Tricky today ...