Crossword Genius

Animal with dark head and whiskers (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

beard

'whiskers' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'animal with dark head' is the wordplay.
'animal' becomes 'bear' (bear is a kind of animal).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'head' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'dark' is 'd'.
'bear'+'d'='BEARD'

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for beard that I've seen before include "Facial hair" , "SECOND PART OF 14" , "Oppose with effrontery" , "In good health; very" , "hair extension" .)

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