Crossword Genius

Female fairy abandoned by the tax people (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fay

'female' is the definition.
(Fay is a woman's name)

'fairy abandoned by the tax people' is the wordplay.
'abandoned by' is a deletion indicator.
'the tax people' becomes 'ir' (abbreviation for Inland Revenue).
'fairy' with 'ir' taken out is 'FAY'.

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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