Crossword Genius

Tear your old top off, it's dirty (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

earthy

'it's dirty' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'tear your old top' is the wordplay.
'your old' becomes 'thy' ('thy' historically meant 'your').
'top' means to remove the first letter.
'tear'+'thy'='tearthy'
'tearthy' with its first letter taken off is 'EARTHY'.

'off' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for earthy that I've seen before include "grubby" , "Crudely uninhibited" , "Suggestive of soil" , "Gross, like the soil" , "Coarse, vulgar" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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.