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Dire Straits, never having succeeded, terribly cross (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

irritated

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

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

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(Other definitions for irritated that I've seen before include "put out" , "rubbed up the wrong way" , "Stimulated" , "Cross" , "Ratty" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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