Crossword Genius

Vilify me in a sarcastic piece (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

smear

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

'vilify' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'me in a sarcastic piece' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'a sarcastic piece' becomes 'sar' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'me' going into 'sar' is 'SMEAR'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for smear that I've seen before include "Slander - tissue sample used for testing" , "Blur, smudge" , "sample on slide" , "Smother" , "material for examination that is on the slide" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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