Crossword Genius

Bell's unfinished book (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tom

'bell's' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'unfinished book' is the wordplay.
'unfinished' means to remove the last letter.
'book' becomes 'tome' (a tome is a book).
'tome' with its final letter taken off is 'TOM'.

(Other definitions for tom that I've seen before include "Waits, perhaps" , "Boy running off with pig" , "Boy - cat" , "Male feline" , "Cruise" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.