Crossword Genius

Catch girl close to rodeo (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lasso

'catch' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'girl close to rodeo' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'lass' (lass is a kind of girl**).
'close to' says to take the final letters (the close/ending of).
The final letter of 'rodeo' is 'o'.
'lass'+'o'='LASSO'

(Other definitions for lasso that I've seen before include "Cowcatcher" , "Rope for throwing" , "Rope used for catching cattle" , "Rope with noose for catching animals" , "Cowboy's noosed rope" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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