Crossword Genius

It's not nice for half of us to be in the red, badly (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rude

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

'it's not nice' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'half of us to be in the red badly' is the wordplay.
'half of' suggests halving the letters.
'to be in the' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'badly' indicates an anagram (letters in the wrong order).
'us' with half the letters taken is 'u'.
'red' anagrammed gives 'rde'.
'u' inserted into 'rde' is 'RUDE'.

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rude that I've seen before include "Impolite - simple" , "Uncivilised" , "Impudent" , "Blue" , "Impertinent" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.