Crossword Genius

Bent outlaw holding English king up (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hooked

'bent' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'outlaw holding english king up' is the wordplay.
'outlaw' becomes 'hood' (hood is a kind of outlaw**).
'holding' indicates putting letters inside.
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'king' becomes 'k'.
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'e'+'k'='ek'
'ek' in reverse letter order is 'ke'.
'hood' going around 'ke' is 'HOOKED'.

(Other definitions for hooked that I've seen before include "Unable to come off drugs" , "Enthralled" , "Curved down, like an eagle's beak" , "Addicted; (fish) caught" , "Addicted or curved down" .)

I've seen this clue in The 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.