Crossword Genius

A source of light -- and forces panicked outside (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alfresco

'outside' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'a source of light and forces panicked' is the wordplay.
'source of' says to take the initial letters (the start - or source - of the word).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'panicked' indicates anagramming the letters.
The initial letter of 'light' is 'l'.
'forces' anagrammed gives 'fresco'.
'a'+'l'+'fresco'='ALFRESCO'

(Other definitions for alfresco that I've seen before include "where it's cool" , "Outside" , "In the open air" , "Meal eaten in the outdoors" , "Out of doors" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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