Crossword Genius

Extremely deficient game is over (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

across

'over' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'extremely deficient game' is the wordplay.
'extremely deficient' indicates the central letters.
'game' becomes 'lacrosse' (lacrosse is a sport).
The centre of 'lacrosse' is 'ACROSS'.

'is' is the link.

(Other definitions for across that I've seen before include "what follows one here" , "To the opposite side" , "written like this?" , "Clue with solution not going in the direction of this one!" , "Clues like this" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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