Is Dad committing theft, or losing it? (9)
I believe the answer is:
panicking
'losing it?' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with human feelings as well as being present participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'is dad committing theft' is the wordplay.
'is dad' becomes 'pa' (both can mean one's father).
'committing theft' becomes 'nicking' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pa'+'nicking'='PANICKING'
'or' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for panicking that I've seen before include "Losing one's head" , "Acting rashly through fear" .)