Crucial a plot is carried out around four (7)
I believe the answer is:
pivotal
'crucial' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'a plot is carried out around four' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'around' could be 'o' (a round letter) and 'o' is located in the answer.
'four' could be 'iv' (Roman numerals for four) and 'iv' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pivotal that I've seen before include "Central - decisive" , "Of central importance" , "Crucially important" , "Of crucial importance" , "Crucial, critical" .)