Dot, shown to be silly, is dismissed conclusively (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
shot down
'dismissed conclusively' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are past participle verbs, I can't see how one could define the other.
'dot shown to be silly' is the wordplay.
'to be silly' indicates an anagram.
'dot'+'shown'='dotshown'
'dotshown' with letters rearranged gives 'SHOT DOWN'.
'is' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in The Times.
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