Crossword Genius

After cover up, Thompson (or Watson) may create difficulty (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dilemma

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

'difficulty' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'after cover up thompson or watson may' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'cover' could be 'lemma' (lemma is a kind of cover) and 'lemma' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'di' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'create' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dilemma that I've seen before include "Dim male (anag.)" , "Difficult situation - may have horns" , "Shavian doctor's problem" , "Unpalatable choice" , "Difficult choice; quandary" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.