Crossword Genius

Is it almost a toss up whether he’s sober? (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sot

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'up whether he's sober?' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'is it almost a toss' is the wordplay.
'is it' becomes 'sa' (old-fashioned abbreviation for sex appeal).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'a toss' becomes 'ot' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'sa' with its final letter taken away is 's'.
's'+'ot'='SOT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sot that I've seen before include "Lush" , "One's often intoxicated" , "drunk" , "Boozer" , "A chronic drinker" .)

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