Crossword Genius

Scrap Conservative implicated in crime — everyone's upset with it (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scintilla

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

'scrap' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'conservative implicated in crime everyone's upset with it' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'conservative' could be 'c' (UK political abbreviation) and 'c' is located in the answer.
'in' is found in the answer.
'upset' could be 'ill' (similar in meaning) and 'ill' is found within the answer.
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sa' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for scintilla that I've seen before include "Tiny hint, trace" , "Minute spark" , "Tiniest bit" , "flash" , "little bit" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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.