Clean and tidy central area in prison (5)
I believe the answer is:
preen
'clean' is the definition.
(preening is a kind of cleaning)
'central area in prison' is the wordplay.
'central' says to take the centre.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'prison' becomes 'pen' (I've seen this before).
The middle letters of 'area' are 're'.
're' going within 'pen' is 'PREEN'.
'and tidy' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for preen that I've seen before include "Tidy and clean (plumage)" , "Groom (oneself) with evident vanity" , "Groom with great care" , "Maintain" , "Arrange feathers" .)