Comment on avoiding marriage to miserly spinster? (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
near miss
'comment on avoiding' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'marriage to miserly spinster?' is the wordplay.
'marriage' becomes 'm' (abbreviation in official records).
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'miserly' becomes 'near' (both can mean reluctant to spend money).
'spinster?' becomes 'iss' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'm' put after 'near' is 'nearm'.
'nearm'+'iss'='NEAR MISS'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for near miss that I've seen before include "that doesn't quite hit the target" , "not a success" , "reason for alarm or relief on aircraft?" , "Not quite on target, but close" , "Not a direct hit, but very close" .)