Crossword Genius

Poorly penning vacuous dodgy poem (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

idyll

'poem' is the definition.
(type of poem)

'poorly penning vacuous dodgy' is the wordplay.
'poorly' becomes 'ill' (similar in meaning).
'penning' indicates putting letters inside.
'vacuous' means to remove the middle letters.
'dodgy' with its centre removed is 'dy'.
'ill' going around 'dy' is 'IDYLL'.

(Other definitions for idyll that I've seen before include "Charming life in the country" , "Blissful pastoral scene" , "very happy situation" , "Blissful period" , "Idealised prose" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.