Crossword Genius

Ruined – by whisky? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scotched

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

'ruined' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with social activities as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I don't see?

'whisky?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'whisky?' could be 'scotch' (Scotch is an example) and 'scotch' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ed' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'by' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for scotched that I've seen before include "Frustrated" , "Put the lid on" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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.