Crossword Genius

Ezra losing heart, Eliot worries (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

eats

'worries' is the definition.
(eating is a kind of worrying)

'ezra losing heart eliot' is the wordplay.
'losing heart' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'eliot' becomes 'ts' (poet TS Eliot).
'ezra' with its middle removed is 'ea'.
'ea'+'ts'='EATS'

(Other definitions for eats that I've seen before include "Grazes perhaps" , "Ingests" , "fare" , "Takes food" , "Commonly, they eliminate" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph and The Sun.
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