Crossword Genius

Flimsy metal cladding for hotel (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

thin

'flimsy' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'metal cladding for hotel' is the wordplay.
'metal' becomes 'tin' (tin is a kind of metal).
'cladding for' means one lot of letters goes inside another (cladding is a material used to cover things up).
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'tin' going around 'h' is 'THIN'.

(Other definitions for thin that I've seen before include "as 7 [LOAF] may be sliced" , "Made of light material" , "Watered down" , "Slender, narrow" , "Lean; make (plants) less crowded" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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