Crossword Genius

Mostly hobbling and crooked, but dazzling (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lambent

'dazzling' is the definition.

'mostly hobbling and crooked' is the wordplay.
'mostly' means to remove the last letter.
'hobbling' becomes 'lame' (I've seen this before).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'crooked' becomes 'bent' ('bent' can be similar in meaning to 'crooked').
'lame' with its final letter removed is 'lam'.
'lam'+'bent'='LAMBENT'

'but' is the link.

(Other definitions for lambent that I've seen before include "Gleaming with a soft radiance, the moon perhaps" , "Softly bright or radiant; flickering" , "Republic of Ireland" , "shedding some light" , "Of flame or light, playing about a surface" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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