Crossword Genius

Over the top - that's clear (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

overt

'clear' is the definition.
(both can mean apparent or obvious)

'over the top' is the wordplay.
'over' means one lot of letters go next to another (in a down clue, some letters go over others).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'top' becomes 'over' (I've seen this before).
't' after 'over' is 'OVERT'.

'that's' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for overt that I've seen before include "Openly displayed" , "Open and undisguised" , "Open, not 1 across" , "Explicit" , "Open and obvious" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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