Crossword Genius

Respect, for the most part, still short inside capital (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

honolulu

'capital' is the definition.
(state capital of Hawaii)

'respect for the most part still short' is the wordplay.
'respect' becomes 'honor' (synonyms).
'for the most part' means to remove the last letter (most but not all of the letters).
'still short' becomes 'lulu' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'honor' with its last letter removed is 'hono'.
'hono'+'lulu'='HONOLULU'

'inside' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for honolulu that I've seen before include "US Pacific state capital" , "Capital port" , "Hawaiian city" , "State capital of Hawaii" , "Capital of the 50th US state" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app