Crossword Genius

Be a fine scout, tricky to confuse (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

obfuscate

'confuse' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'be a fine scout tricky' is the wordplay.
'fine' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'tricky' indicates an anagram.
'be'+'a'+'f'+'scout'='beafscout'
'beafscout' is an anagram of 'OBFUSCATE'.

'to' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for obfuscate that I've seen before include "Hide" , "Darken - bewilder" , "Make dark" , "Make obscure or unclear" , "Dim" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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