Crossword Genius

Beaten with a fine hypothetical question (4-2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

what-if

'hypothetical question' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'beaten with a fine' is the wordplay.
'beaten' indicates anagramming the letters (letters beaten up or destroyed).
'fine' becomes 'f' (abbreviation in pencil classifications).
'with'+'a'='witha'
'witha' anagrammed gives 'whati'.
'whati'+'f'='WHAT-IF'

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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