Crossword Genius

For punishment, ring around mid-morning (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

penal

'for punishment' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'ring around mid-morning' is the wordplay.
'ring' becomes 'peal' (synonyms).
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'mid' means to look at the middle letters.
The central letter of 'morning' is 'n'.
'peal' going around 'n' is 'PENAL'.

(Other definitions for penal that I've seen before include "Involving punishment as by the law" , "Relating to legal punishment" , "Involving legal punishment" , "Very severe" , "Punishable by law" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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.