Crossword Genius

Blight on the plant? This needs fencing (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pentathlon

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'this needs fencing' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'blight on the plant?' is the wordplay.
'blight' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'blighted' mean this (I've seen this in other clues)).
'on'+'the'+'plant'='ontheplant'
'ontheplant' with letters rearranged gives 'PENTATHLON'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pentathlon that I've seen before include "old Olympic event" , "Event of five different disciplines" , "athletic contest" , "Fivefold athletic event" , "Sporting event with five disciplines" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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