Crossword Genius

Hoping painkiller's good (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aspiring

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

'painkiller's good' is the wordplay.
'painkiller' becomes 'aspirin' (aspirin is a kind of painkiller).
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'aspirin'+'g'='ASPIRING'

(Other definitions for aspiring that I've seen before include "Would-be" , "Hoping" , "Striving" , "Having ambition to achieve greater things" , "Wanting to get high" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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