American highwayman saw Norway in decay (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
road agent
'american highwayman' is the definition.
'road agent' can be an answer for 'highwayman' (synonyms). I'm not sure about the 'american' bit.
'saw norway in decay' is the wordplay.
'saw' becomes 'adage' (saw can mean a proverb or saying).
'norway' becomes 'n'.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'decay' becomes 'rot' (rot can mean to decay).
'adage'+'n'='adagen'
'adagen' placed into 'rot' is 'ROAD-AGENT'.
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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