Crossword Genius

Ability to finish a task badly? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

skill

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'ability' is the definition.
(skill is a kind of ability)

'finish a task badly?' is the wordplay.
'finish a task' becomes 'sk' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'badly?' becomes 'ill' ('ill' can be adverbial as in 'ill-advised').
'sk'+'ill'='SKILL'

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for skill that I've seen before include "Ability acquired by training" , "Ability - dexterity" , "Expertise; art" , "Prowess" , "Expertise, dexterity" .)

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