Crossword Genius

Crooked conman smuggling fashionable spice (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cinnamon

'spice' is the definition.
(cinnamon is a kind of spice)

'crooked conman smuggling fashionable' is the wordplay.
'crooked' indicates an anagram.
'smuggling' indicates putting letters inside (I've seen this in other clues).
'fashionable' becomes 'in' ('in' can be similar in meaning to 'fashionable').
'conman' anagrammed gives 'cnamon'.
'cnamon' going around 'in' is 'CINNAMON'.

(Other definitions for cinnamon that I've seen before include "Aromatic tree bark used as a spice" , "Spice from dried bark" , "'Spice in con man, strangely (8)'" , "Yellowish-brown - spice" , "Spicy bark" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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