On air, was a show host judged against somebody else? (8)
I believe the answer is:
compared
'else?' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, adjectives and past participle verbs sometimes define each other.
'on air was a show host judged against somebody' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'on' could be 're' (regarding) and 're' is located in the answer.
'a' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for compared that I've seen before include "set side by side" , "Looked at similarities and differences" , "Drop mace (anag.)" , "Likened or contrasted" .)