Saw disheartened sailor clean deck (4)
I believe the answer is:
swab
'clean deck' is the definition.
'swab' can be an answer for 'clean' (swabbing is a kind of cleaning). I am unsure of the 'deck' bit.
'saw disheartened sailor' is the wordplay.
'disheartened' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (the middle or heart is removed).
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'saw' with its centre removed is 'sw'.
'sw'+'ab'='SWAB'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for swab that I've seen before include "Pad used in surgery" , "Clean (a wound)" , "Surgical cleaner" , "Cloth for cleaning wounds" , "Piece of fabric for medical use" .)