Crossword Genius

He might make end of ref or ref make end of him (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

offender

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

'him' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'he might make end of ref or ref make end' is the wordplay.
'he might' becomes 'o' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'make' is an anagram indicator.
'end of' says to take the final letters.
The last letters of 'ref or ref make' are 'frfe'.
'frfe'+'end'='frfeend'
'frfeend' with letters rearranged gives 'ffender'.
'o'+'ffender'='OFFENDER'

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for offender that I've seen before include "Criminal" , "Transgressor, lawbreaker" , "miscreant" , "One breaking rule" , "Delinquent" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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.