Crossword Genius

Pellets of crack at the end of prison term (4,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bird shot

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'pellets of' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'crack at the end of prison term' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'crack' could be 'shot' (synonyms) and 'shot' is found in the answer.
'prison' could be 'bird' and 'bird' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for bird shot that I've seen is " Small pellets for hunting rifle".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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