Crossword Genius

Harsh record with broken rod given by worker (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

discordant

'harsh' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'record with broken rod given by worker' is the wordplay.
'record' becomes 'disc' (eg a CD, compact disc).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'broken' indicates an anagram.
'given by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'worker' becomes 'ant' (worker is a type of ant).
'rod' with letters rearranged gives 'ord'.
'disc'+'ord'+'ant'='DISCORDANT'

(Other definitions for discordant that I've seen before include "At variance" , "off-key" , "Raucous" , "Lacking harmony; conflicting" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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