What a dirty dog needs when almost submerged? (5)
I believe the answer is:
awash
'submerged?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'what a dirty dog needs when almost' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'when' could be 'as' (eg 'when I walked' means 'as I walked') and 'as' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for awash that I've seen before include "Letting the 21 in" , "Drenched" , "Flooded; about to sink" , "Doused in water" , "With the top just covered with water" .)