A charming French accent (5)

I believe the answer is:

acute

'french accent' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a charming' is the wordplay.
'charming' becomes 'cute' (I've seen this in other clues).
'a'+'cute'='ACUTE'

(Other definitions for acute that I've seen before include "Severe, penetrating" , "Sharp; type of accent" , "Severe; French accent" , "Sharp; severe" , "Keen; severe" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, The Telegraph and The Irish Independent.

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