Crossword Genius

Cut fruit, then vegetable (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pea

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

'cut fruit' is the wordplay.
'cut' means to remove the last letter.
'fruit' becomes 'pear' (pear is a kind of fruit).
'pear' with its last letter taken away is 'PEA'.

'then' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for pea that I've seen before include "garden plant" , "Edible seed from pod" , "Leguminous seed" , "12 in a pod" , "Common vegetable seed from pod" .)

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