Crossword Genius

Bungle at the dance, supper's half off (5-2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

balls-up

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bungle at' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?

'dance supper's half off' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'dance' could be 'ball' (ball is a kind of dance) and 'ball' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sup' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for balls-up that I've seen is " disaster".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app