Crossword Genius

He stole away from the store (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pirate

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'he stole away from the store' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'he stole away from the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'he' could be 'ira' and 'ira' is located in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pirate that I've seen before include "Criminal on the high seas" , "Penzance marauder ?" , "Cornishman maybe" , "Sea raider" , "operating illegally" .)

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