Crossword Genius

In French, discuss Yankee’s plea (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

entreaty

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

'in french discuss yankee's' is the wordplay.
'in french' becomes 'en' ('in' in French).
'discuss' becomes 'treat' (I've seen this in another clue).
'yankee' becomes 'Y' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'en'+'treat'+'y'='ENTREATY'

(Other definitions for entreaty that I've seen before include "application for assistance" , "Appeal" , "Teeny rat (anag.)" , "petition" , "An earnest or emotional request" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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