Crossword Genius

Daily forced to cancel leader in ridiculous pretence (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

charade

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

'daily forced to cancel leader' is the wordplay.
'daily' becomes 'char' (I've seen this before).
'forced' becomes 'made' (I've seen this before).
'to cancel leader' means to remove the first letter.
'made' with its initial letter taken off is 'ade'.
'char'+'ade'='CHARADE'

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for charade that I've seen before include "Ridiculous pretence" , "Blatant deception" , "Total pretence (as in game)" , "Pretence; parlour game" , "Pretence - travesty" .)

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