Smart, but maybe he could lose a kilo (5)
I believe the answer is:
aleck
'smart but' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.
'he could lose a kilo' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'he' could be 'alec' (I've seen this before) and 'alec' is located in the answer.
'kilo' could be 'k' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.) and 'k' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'maybe' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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