Crossword Genius

Either working hard or operating dishonestly (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grafting

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'operating dishonestly' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being present participle verbs.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for grafting that I've seen before include "Transplanting a shoot onto new stock" , "Working hard" , "performing transplant surgery" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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