Crossword Genius

Hoped I lost weight at the beginning (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

wished

'hoped' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'i lost weight at the beginning' is the wordplay.
'lost' becomes 'shed' (I've seen this before).
'weight' becomes 'w' (short for weight).
'at the beginning' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (some letters go at the beginning of others).
'i'+'shed'='ished'
'ished' after 'w' is 'WISHED'.

(Other definitions for wished that I've seen before include "Desired" , "Felt a desire" , "Hoped" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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