Crossword Genius

Frenchman and I lead the way despite the haze (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mist

'the haze' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'frenchman and i lead the way' is the wordplay.
'frenchman' becomes 'm' (abbreviation for Monsieur - like 'Mr').
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'lead' says to put letters next to each other.
'the way' becomes 'st' (**).
'm'+'i'+'st'='MIST'

'despite' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for mist that I've seen before include "Cloud; thin fog" , "Think fog or low cloud" , "Fret" , "Mizzle; light rain" , "low-level cloud" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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