Crossword Genius

Became friendly in the spring? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

thawed

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

'became friendly in' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to change as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'the spring?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'hawed' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for thawed that I've seen before include "Melted like spring snow" , "Melted like snow or ice" , "Unfroze, melted" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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