Crossword Genius

Baffle a half stupid politician (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stump

'baffle' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'a half stupid politician' is the wordplay.
'a half' indicates taking half.
'politician' becomes 'mp'.
'stupid' with half the letters taken is 'stu'.
'stu'+'mp'='STUMP'

(Other definitions for stump that I've seen before include "Flummox" , "Small remaining part; cricket item" , "Part of a felled tree that's left in the ground" , "Residue after felling" , "What's left after cutting" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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