25a Tinker holding ale back for pirate (10) ?r?e?o?t?r
I have determined that the answer must be FREEBOOTER ... straight clue is "pirate".
But how does this work?
The "ale back" cryptic is beer reversed = "reeb" ... leaving "footer"
But I can't see how "footer" is a synonym for "tinker"
Any help gratefully received