Crossword Genius

Sponger ruined pair's tea (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

parasite

'sponger' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'ruined pair's tea' is the wordplay.
'ruined' is an anagram indicator.
'pairs'+'tea'='pairstea'
'pairstea' anagrammed gives 'PARASITE'.

(Other definitions for parasite that I've seen before include "Say mistletoe" , "one who thrives on (or off) another" , "Relies on host to survive" , "Self-interested hanger-on" , "It depends on the host" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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