Crossword Genius

Doubtful pawnbroker, right to ring American (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

unclear

'doubtful' is the definition.
(unclear can mean doubtful or vague)

'pawnbroker right to ring american' is the wordplay.
'pawnbroker' becomes 'uncle' (old-fashioned term for a pawnbroker).
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'to ring' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'american' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'uncle'+'r'='uncler'
'uncler' placed around 'a' is 'UNCLEAR'.

(Other definitions for unclear that I've seen before include "Poorly described" , "An ulcer (anag)" , "Imprecise, hazy" , "Not transparent or free from doubt" , "Not easy to grasp" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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