A failure as a fast dye? (7)
I believe the answer is:
washout
'a failure' is the definition.
(I know that washout is a type of failure)
'as a fast dye?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'as' is within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for washout that I've seen before include "A complete failure - too much rain" , "Cancelled test, for example" , "Cancelled event - utter failure" , "Failure - cancellation" , "match abandoned due to rain?" .)