Crossword Genius

Forced to remove English cross (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mad

'cross' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'forced to remove english' is the wordplay.
'forced' becomes 'made' (both can mean coerced).
'to remove' is a deletion indicator.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'made' with 'e' taken away is 'MAD'.

(Other definitions for mad that I've seen before include "like the March Hare" , "abandoned" , "Frantic" , "Roused to anger" , "Demented or excited or angry" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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.