A smack in a gale? (4)
I believe the answer is:
blow
I believe this is a double definition.
'a smack' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)
'a gale?' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for blow that I've seen before include "Shock; sound (a horn)" , "cocaine from US" , "Blast" , "Cease to be a problem" , "Waste" .)