Mail 15253

[cracker222]

10a Plant liable to collapse without oxygen (7) LOBELIA but surely it should be without the T? Is this clue wrong or do I misunderstand it (much more likely!)?

[bibblebub]

liable to collapse = anagram of 'liable'
without oxygen = put O inside that^

[Dinkypuzzled]

anagram of liable (collapse) + o for oxygen

[MargoTester]

Anagram liable + o(xygen)

[cracker222]

I still think it should surely be with oxygen rather than "without". Oh well...

[bibblebub]

to be pedantic it's not an anagram of everything - the word 'without' in the clue is an instruction to put the anagram of 'liable' outside O

[bibblebub]

without: on the outside of
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/without

[cracker222]

Thank you bibblebub for your pedantry - just what I needed to understand it.