Crossword Genius

Extracting a rabbit - three times? (3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hat trick

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'times?' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'extracting a rabbit three' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'three' could be 'tri' (prefix meaning 'three') and 'tri' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hat trick that I've seen before include "Three goals scored in a game or wickets taken with consecutive deliveries by an individual" , "Taking three wickets with consecutive balls" , "Three-goal feat" , "three dismissals" , "Three consecutive wins" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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