Crossword Genius

Greeting the ambassador will love (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hello

'greeting' is the definition.
(hello is a kind of greeting)

'the ambassador will love' is the wordplay.
'the ambassador' becomes 'he' (His or Her Excellency).
'will' becomes 'll'.
'love' becomes 'o' (In tennis, 'love' means 'zero').
'he'+'ll'+'o'='HELLO'

(Other definitions for hello that I've seen before include "Welcome" , "Conversation starter" , "Conventional word of greeting" , "Look at that" , "Introductory greeting" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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