Road-making material, when soft, to stop working? (7)
I believe the answer is:
asphalt
'road' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'material when soft to stop working?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'when' could be 'as' (eg 'when I walked' means 'as I walked') and 'as' is found within the answer.
'soft' could be 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano') and 'p' is found in the answer.
'stop' could be 'halt' (halt can mean to stop) and 'halt' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'making' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for asphalt that I've seen before include "Paving material" , "Mixture of tar and gravel for paving" , "Road-building material" , "Mixture of tar and gravel used in road surfaces" , "Bituminous substance used in building" .)