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3 that is second class (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

species

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'class' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'3 that is second' is the wordplay.
'e' becomes 'spec' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'that is' becomes 'ie' (short for Latin 'id est', 'that is').
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'spec'+'ie'+'s'='SPECIES'

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(Other definitions for species that I've seen before include "Biological group" , "Taxonomic group capable of interbreeding" , "Breed or genus" , "Category" , "Taxonomic group whose members can interbreed" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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