Crossword Genius

Calumny making a Cretan lose his head? (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

slander

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

'calumny' is the definition.
(I know that calumny can be written as slander)

'a cretan lose his head?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'making' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for slander that I've seen before include "False/malicious speech" , "Snarled about malicious statement" , "Injurious defamation by spoken words" , "backbiting" , "Malicious speech" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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