Crossword Genius

Hook right in front of gas cooker? (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grapple

'hook' is the definition.
(as in a grappling hook)

'right in front of gas cooker?' is the wordplay.
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'front of' says to take the initial letters.
'cooker?' becomes 'apple' ('cooker' can mean a cooking apple).
The initial letter of 'gas' is 'g'.
'g'+'apple'='gapple'
'r' inserted into 'gapple' is 'GRAPPLE'.

(Other definitions for grapple that I've seen before include "Hooking instrument" , "Clutch" , "Wrestle mentally (with)" , "Lay hold of" , "Engage in close fighting" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.