Smash almost all the competition? Just avoid losing (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
break even
'avoid losing' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'smash almost all the competition?' is the wordplay.
'smash' becomes 'break' (I've seen this before).
'almost all' means to remove the last letter.
'the competition?' becomes 'event' (competition is a kind of event).
'event' with its final letter removed is 'even'.
'break'+'even'='BREAK-EVEN'
'just' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for break even that I've seen before include "almost go into profit" , "Point at which profits are equal to costs" , "achieve viability" , "To avoid losses" , "Having equal cost" .)