Crossword Genius

Cigarette lit, fire heartlessly put out (6,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

filter tip

'cigarette' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'lit fire heartlessly put out' is the wordplay.
'heartlessly' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'out' indicates anagramming the letters (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'put' with its middle taken out is 'pt'.
'lit'+'fire'+'pt'='litfirept'
'litfirept' is an anagram of 'FILTER TIP'.

(Other definitions for filter tip that I've seen before include "A fag" , "Tobacco purifier" , "Cigarette feature" , "Cigarette with an attachment for removing some of the harmful substances" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app