Crossword Genius

A French boy with even ends empty (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

unladen

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'empty' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'a french boy with even ends' is the wordplay.
'a french' becomes 'un' ('a' in French).
'boy' becomes 'lad' (informal term for boy).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'ends' suggests removing the centre.
'even' with its centre taken out is 'en'.
'un'+'lad'+'en'='UNLADEN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for unladen that I've seen before include "not charged" , "Not carrying a cargo" , "without cargo" , "not carrying goods" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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