How do I solve 1 across in Times Cryptic 29536?

Question

Accepted Answer

1 across reads "Left-leaning character supports corporal punishment" (9 letters); the answer is BACKSLASH. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

Left-leaning character supports corporal punishment (9)

1A — Left-leaning character supports corporal punishment (9) — BACKSLASH