Crossword Genius

Fool is beginning to taunt soldier and aide (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

assistant

'aide' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'fool is beginning to taunt soldier' is the wordplay.
'fool' becomes 'ass' (ass is a kind of fool**).
'beginning to' indicates taking the first letters.
'soldier' becomes 'ant' (I've seen this before).
The initial letter of 'taunt' is 't'.
'ass'+'is'+'t'+'ant'='ASSISTANT'

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for assistant that I've seen before include "Deputy, subordinate" , "one helps out" , "One helping" , "Attendant, helper" , "Aide, helper" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.