Crossword Genius

Cruel temperament, variable (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bloody

'cruel' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'temperament variable' is the wordplay.
'temperament' becomes 'blood' (blood is a kind of temperament).
'variable' becomes 'y' (I've seen this in other clues).
'blood'+'y'='BLOODY'

(Other definitions for bloody that I've seen before include "Cruel, murderous" , "Gory" , ""____ but unbowed"" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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