Crossword Genius

Tablets not really working, boy almost entirely covered in spots (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

placebos

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

'tablets not really working' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'boy almost entirely covered in spots' is the wordplay.
'almost entirely' means to remove the last letter (most but not all of the word).
'covered in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'spots' becomes 'places' ('place' can be a synonym of 'spot').
'boy' with its last letter taken away is 'bo'.
'bo' inserted inside 'places' is 'PLACEBOS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for placebos that I've seen before include "Useless drugs" , "Inactive drugs" , "Medications with no medicinal content" , "Inert medications, given in drug trials" , "Physically inactive medicines" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.