Crossword Genius

Cheat black American — drink outside rear of hotel (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bamboozle

'cheat' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'black american drink outside rear of hotel' is the wordplay.
'black' becomes 'b' (as in pencil classifications).
'american' becomes 'am' (abbreviation in some contexts).
'drink' becomes 'booze' ('booze' can be a synonym of 'drink'**).
'outside' indicates putting letters inside.
'rear of' indicates one should take the final letters.
The last letter of 'hotel' is 'l'.
'booze' placed around 'l' is 'boozle'.
'b'+'am'+'boozle'='BAMBOOZLE'

(Other definitions for bamboozle that I've seen before include "Fool" , "Deceive" , "Hoodwink" , "Stump" , "Fox" .)

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.