Crossword Genius

Close shaven, trimmed on top (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

airless

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

'close' is the definition.
(I know that close can be written as airless)

'shaven trimmed on top' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'top' could be 'ai' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ai' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for airless that I've seen before include "Very stuffy" , "Not ventilated" , "Unventilated" , "not a breath of wind" , "Stifling" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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