King Alfred - placed but not working (5)
I believe the answer is:
kaput
'not working' is the definition.
(kaput can mean broken)
'king alfred placed' is the wordplay.
'king alfred' becomes 'ka' (this might be a standard abbreviation which I don't know about).
'placed' becomes 'put' (I've seen this before).
'ka'+'put'='KAPUT'
'but' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for kaput that I've seen before include "Broken (sl.)" , "out of action" , "Defunct (informal)" , "Bust" , "Wiped out" .)