Crossword Genius

Involve mischief-maker with story about jazz fan (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

implicate

'involve' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'mischief-maker with story about jazz fan' is the wordplay.
'mischief maker' becomes 'imp' (I've seen this in other clues).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'story' becomes 'lie' (I've seen this before).
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'jazz fan' becomes 'cat' (I've seen this before).
'lie' enclosing 'cat' is 'licate'.
'imp'+'licate'='IMPLICATE'

(Other definitions for implicate that I've seen before include "Involve in a crime, ensnare" , "Involve in, say a crime" , "Point finger at criminal" , "Suggest someone is involved or took part in a crime" , "Involve in a crime, give evidence accordingly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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