Crossword Genius

Smashed cartel retains one item (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

article

'item' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'smashed cartel retains one' is the wordplay.
'smashed' is an anagram indicator.
'retains' indicates putting letters inside.
'one' becomes 'I' (Roman numeral).
'cartel' is an anagram of 'artcle'.
'artcle' going around 'i' is 'ARTICLE'.

(Other definitions for article that I've seen before include "Possibly the" , "Newspaper feature or a separate thing" , "News story" , "A rewritten piece" , "Newspaper essay" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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.