Crossword Genius

Beat the short boy (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

throb

'beat' is the definition.
(throb is a kind of beat)

'the short boy' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'boy' becomes 'rob' (**).
'the' with its last letter removed is 'th'.
'th'+'rob'='THROB'

(Other definitions for throb that I've seen before include "Beat rhythmically" , "Pound" , "Strong rhythmic beat" , "Drum" , "beat repeatedly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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