Function without appearing in court? (4)
I believe the answer is:
sine
'function' is the definition.
(mathematical function)
'without appearing in court?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'in' is within the answer.
The remaining letters 'se' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sine that I've seen before include "Trigonometrical function" , "Indefinitely, with no appointed date - . . . . die" , "Latin tag for indefinitely - . . . . die" , "Indispensable condition" , "Trigonometric function" .)