Animal giving a hiss (3)

I believe the answer is:

ass

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

'animal' is the definition.
(term for a donkey)

'giving a hiss' is the wordplay.
'giving' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'hiss' becomes 'ss' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'a'+'ss' is 'ASS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ass that I've seen before include "Animal of horse family" , "Horse relative" , "Hoofed animal, smaller than a horse" , "Jennet" , "An American backside" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.