Crossword Genius

Gather men tipsy after party spirit -- such a spoilsport (3,2,3,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dog in the manger

'a spoilsport' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'gather men tipsy after party spirit' is the wordplay.
'tipsy' indicates an anagram.
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'party' becomes 'do' (do is a kind of party).
'spirit' becomes 'gin' (I've seen this before).
'gather'+'men'='gathermen'
'gathermen' anagrammed gives 'themanger'.
'do'+'gin'='dogin'
'themanger' put after 'dogin' is 'DOG-IN-THE-MANGER'.

'such' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for dog in the manger that I've seen before include "One not letting others use what they themselves have no use for" , "possessive type?" , "selfish hoarder" , "that could disrupt nativity play" , "Possessive person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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.