Bash shin up, or knee-cap? (6)
I believe the answer is:
punish
'knee-cap?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'bash shin up' is the wordplay.
'bash' indicates anagramming the letters.
'shin'+'up'='shinup'
'shinup' is an anagram of 'PUNISH'.
'or' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for punish that I've seen before include "Inflict a penalty upon" , "Treat harshly or severely" , "Cause to suffer for an offence" , "Impose penalty for crime or misbehaviour" , "exact retribution" .)