Crossword Genius

'Jack, find the answer!' 'Pardon?' (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

absolve

'pardon?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'jack find the answer' is the wordplay.
'jack' becomes 'ab'.
'find' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the answer' becomes 'solve' (**).
'ab'+'solve'='ABSOLVE'

(Other definitions for absolve that I've seen before include "Declare (someone) free of guilt" , "Free (a person) from guilt" , "Declare to be free from blame" , "Let off the hook" , "Cleanse" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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