Crossword Genius

A Hardy book, maybe? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

annual

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'book maybe?' is the definition.
'annual' can be an answer for 'book' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'maybe?' bit.

'a hardy' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for annual that I've seen before include "Type of year book" , "Once a year, perhaps a book" , "Every twelve months" , "Twelve-monthly" , "Happening once each year" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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