Crossword Genius

A lot discounted spiteful gossip over Charlie and Rick (4-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dirt-cheap

'a lot discounted' is the definition.
(something sold dirt-cheap has a large discount)

'spiteful gossip over charlie and rick' is the wordplay.
'spiteful gossip' becomes 'dirt' (dirt can mean gossip or rumour).
'over' says to put letters next to each other.
'charlie' becomes 'c' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'rick' becomes 'heap' (rick can mean a heap of hay).
'dirt'+'c'+'heap'='DIRT-CHEAP'

(Other definitions for dirt-cheap that I've seen before include "Ridiculously inexpensive" , "Greatly reduced in price" , "Going for a song" , "Hid carpet, being unclean and inexpensive" , "Extremely inexpensive" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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