Crossword Genius

Prisoners tense: row is building (12)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

construction

'is building' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'prisoners tense row' is the wordplay.
'prisoners' becomes 'cons'.
'tense' becomes 't' (abbreviation used in many dictionaries).
'row' becomes 'ruction' (**).
'cons'+'t'+'ruction'='CONSTRUCTION'

(Other definitions for construction that I've seen before include "Process of erecting buildings" , "Act of building" , "Building; interpretation" , "Industry of erecting buildings" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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