Crossword Genius

Continue as a grotesque fool (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

goon

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

'fool' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'continue as a grotesque' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'continue' could be 'on' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'on' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'go' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for goon that I've seen before include "He's very stupid" , "Silly person - bully (US)" , "Hired thug" , "person making fool of himself" , "someone rather stupid" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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