Crossword Genius

Doctor taking in most of sick and faint (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mild

'faint' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'doctor taking in most of sick' is the wordplay.
'doctor' becomes 'md' ('MD' can be a synonym of 'doctor'**).
'taking in' indicates putting letters inside.
'most of' means to remove the last letter.
'sick' becomes 'ill' ('ill' can be a synonym of 'sick').
'ill' with its final letter taken off is 'il'.
'md' going around 'il' is 'MILD'.

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for mild that I've seen before include "Moderately warm - type of beer" , "Clement -- type of beer" , "Dark beer, not strong in flavour" , "Balmy or moderate" , "Beer darker than bitter - not bitter" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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