Crossword Genius

Futility of a fictitious fair (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

vanity

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'futility' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'a fictitious fair' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for vanity that I've seen before include "Conceit about one's appearance" , "Conceitedness, self-love" , "Thackery was the author of ''. . . . . . Fair''" , "Excessive self-regard" , "Excessive pride in one's appearance" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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