Crossword Genius

A vain fool in futile guise (2,2,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

of no avail

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

'futile guise' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.

'a vain fool' is the wordplay.
'a vain fool' can be anagrammed to 'OF NO AVAIL'.
However, I'm not clear how the anagram is indicated.

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for of no avail that I've seen is " Not effective".)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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