Crossword Genius

Tricked! Root in middle of house of ill repute! (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

notorious

'of ill repute' is the definition.
(both can mean infamous)

'tricked root in middle of house' is the wordplay.
'tricked' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'middle of' says to take the centre.
The middle of 'house' is 'ous'.
'root'+'in'='rootin'
'rootin' anagrammed gives 'notori'.
'notori'+'ous'='NOTORIOUS'

(Other definitions for notorious that I've seen before include "Disgraceful" , "Hitchcock film" , "Famous for bad deeds" , "having a terrible reputation?" , "Famous for misdeeds" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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