Crossword Genius

Calm, friend crossing European river (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

moderate

'calm' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'friend crossing european river' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'mate' (mate is a kind of friend**).
'crossing' indicates putting letters inside.
'european river' becomes 'oder' (I've seen this before).
'mate' going around 'oder' is 'MODERATE'.

(Other definitions for moderate that I've seen before include "Become less intense" , "Not extreme - not very good" , "Medium in amount or intensity" , "Chair" , "Temper" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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