Crossword Genius

Aspirations? Wanting one nice place to live (3,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

des res

'nice place to live' is the definition.
(short for desirable residence)

'aspirations? wanting one' is the wordplay.
'aspirations?' becomes 'desires' (aspiration is a kind of desire).
'wanting' indicates named letters should be taken away (to want something can mean to lack it or need it).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'desires' with 'i' taken out is 'DES-RES'.

(Other definitions for des res that I've seen before include "A very nice building to live in, in short" , "Smart place to live (abbr)" , "Lovely home" , "Nice house (slang abbr.)" , "Desirable residence (abbrev.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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