Crossword Genius

Help to finish a French chicken (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

afraid

'chicken' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'help to finish a french' is the wordplay.
'help' becomes 'aid' (synonyms).
'to finish' means one lot of letters go next to another (some letters go after or 'finish' others).
'french' becomes 'fr'.
'a'+'fr'='afr'
'aid' put after 'afr' is 'AFRAID'.

(Other definitions for afraid that I've seen before include "makes one panicky" , "Alarmed, fearful" , "Fearful, anxious" , "Filled with concern" , "Regretfully" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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