Crossword Genius

The King almost killed — victim taken outside (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

presley

'the king' is the definition.
(Elvis Presley was 'The King')

'almost killed victim taken outside' is the wordplay.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'killed' becomes 'slew' (historical past tense of slay).
'victim' becomes 'prey' (prey is a kind of victim).
'taken outside' indicates putting letters inside.
'slew' with its last letter taken away is 'sle'.
'sle' going inside 'prey' is 'PRESLEY'.

(Other definitions for presley that I've seen before include "Elvis -, US singer" , "The king of rock 'n roll" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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