Crossword Genius

Disease sees lamb mostly destroyed (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

measles

'disease' is the definition.
(measles is a kind of disease)

'sees lamb mostly destroyed' is the wordplay.
'mostly' means to remove the last letter.
'destroyed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'sees'+'lamb'='seeslamb'
'seeslamb' with its last letter taken off is 'seeslam'.
'seeslam' anagrammed gives 'MEASLES'.

(Other definitions for measles that I've seen before include "Childhood malady" , "An infectious fever" , "Ailment" , "Infectious disease covering body with red spots" , "Rubeola" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app