Crossword Genius

A cut in one act spoilt the emphasis (12)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

accentuation

'the emphasis' is the definition.
('accentuation' can be a synonym of 'emphasis')

'a cut in one act spoilt' is the wordplay.
'spoilt' indicates anagramming the letters.
'cut'+'in'+'one'+'act'='cutinoneact'
'cutinoneact' is an anagram of 'ccentuation'.
'a'+'ccentuation'='ACCENTUATION'

(Another definition for accentuation that I've seen is " Emphasis, stress".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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