Crossword Genius

Colour of small runabout perhaps on lease (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scarlet

'colour' is the definition.
(scarlet is a kind of colour)

'small runabout perhaps on lease' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'runabout perhaps' becomes 'car' (runabout is a kind of car).
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'lease' becomes 'let' ('let' can be a synonym of 'lease').
's'+'car'+'let'='SCARLET'

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for scarlet that I've seen before include "Crimson" , "immoral" , "Red colour of clarets" , "Cherry-red" , "Vivid red" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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