Crossword Genius

Lizard skin girdle and cloak win an Oscar (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gecko

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'lizard' is the definition.
(I know that gecko is a type of lizard)

'skin girdle and cloak win an oscar' is the wordplay.
'skin' suggests removing the centre.
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'cloak win' becomes 'ck' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'an oscar' becomes 'O' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'girdle' with its centre taken out is 'ge'.
'ge'+'ck'+'o'='GECKO'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gecko that I've seen before include "Lizard with adhesive toes" , "Nocturnal lizard" , "Malaysian climber" , "Small tropical lizard" , "Small lizard with adhesive foot-pads" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.