Crossword Genius

Charlie, out of practice, is irascible (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

crusty

'irascible' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'charlie out of practice' is the wordplay.
'charlie' becomes 'C' (phonetic alphabet).
'out of practice' becomes 'rusty' (synonyms).
'c'+'rusty'='CRUSTY'

'is' is the link.

(Other definitions for crusty that I've seen before include "Curtsy (anag.)" , "Sour and brusque, like outer part of bread" , "Having harsh manner like hard bread" , "Ill-humoured" , "Cross or harsh, like outer layer of loaf" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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