Does more than is needed as a blacksmith's protective footwear? (9)
I believe the answer is:
overshoes
'protective footwear?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'does more than is needed as a blacksmith's' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'more' could be 'over' (I've seen this before) and 'over' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'shoes' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for overshoes that I've seen before include "Protectors of footwear" , "Protective footwear" , "Foot Guards" .)