Crossword Genius

Wild West tale half caught by a girl (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lawless

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

'west tale half caught by a girl' is the wordplay.
'west' becomes 'W' (abbreviation).
'half' suggests halving the letters.
'caught by' indicates putting letters inside.
'a girl' becomes 'lass' (lass can informally mean a girl).
'tale' with half the letters taken is 'le'.
'w'+'le'='wle'
'wle' inserted inside 'lass' is 'LAWLESS'.

(Other definitions for lawless that I've seen before include "Slew Sal for being criminal" , "Anarchy" , "Ungoverned" , "Unruly - anarchic" , "insubordinate" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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