Crossword Genius

Conservative conned country (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chad

'country' is the definition.
(I know that Chad is a country)

'conservative conned' is the wordplay.
'conservative' becomes 'C' (UK political abbreviation).
'conned' becomes 'had' (a conned person might say 'I've been had!').
'c'+'had'='CHAD'

(Other definitions for chad that I've seen before include "foreign land" , "Large, shallow lake in north central Africa" , "West African country" , "Fish" , "article put out by Punch?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app