Crossword Genius

Instrument, one featured in short book (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

viol

'instrument' is the definition.
(viol is a kind of instrument)

'one featured in short book' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'I' (Roman numeral).
'featured in' indicates putting letters inside.
'short book' becomes 'vol' (short for volume; 'short' indicates a short form).
'i' put into 'vol' is 'VIOL'.

(Other definitions for viol that I've seen before include "Early fiddle" , "Double bass relative" , "something from the past to play" , "Early string instrument" , "Old stringed instrument" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app