Crossword Genius

Difficult son spat (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stiff

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

'son spat' is the wordplay.
'son' becomes 's'.
'spat' becomes 'tiff' ('tiff' can be a synonym of 'spat').
's'+'tiff'='STIFF'

(Other definitions for stiff that I've seen before include "cheat" , "One dead" , "Rigid, unbending" , "tough" , "Formal" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph and The Guardian.
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