Crossword Genius

Benevolent female, falling short, yet got rid of harm somehow (5,9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fairy godmother

'benevolent female' is the definition.
(benevolent fairytale character)

'falling short yet got rid of harm somehow' is the wordplay.
'falling short' means to remove the last letter.
'somehow' indicates anagramming the letters.
'yet'+'got'='yetgot'
'yetgot' with its final letter removed is 'yetgo'.
'yetgo'+'rid'+'of'+'harm'='yetgoridofharm'
'yetgoridofharm' anagrammed gives 'FAIRY GODMOTHER'.

(Other definitions for fairy godmother that I've seen before include "Benefactor" , "Cinderella's benefactress" , "panto character" , "Sweet lady" , "generous figure" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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