Crossword Genius

Dismay -- poor Tories cannot win without Women's Institute (13)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

consternation

'dismay' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'poor tories cannot win without women's institute' is the wordplay.
'poor' indicates an anagram.
'without' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'women's institute' becomes 'wi'.
'tories'+'cannot'+'win'='toriescannotwin'
'toriescannotwin' with 'wi' removed is 'toriescannotn'.
'toriescannotn' anagrammed gives 'CONSTERNATION'.

(Other definitions for consternation that I've seen before include "Anxiety, dismay" , "Alarm" , "Feelings of dismay" , "Worry" , "Dismay - cast-iron tenon (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.