Crossword Genius

Judge accepts story in mitigation (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

relief

'mitigation' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'judge accepts story' is the wordplay.
'judge' becomes 'ref'.
'accepts' indicates putting letters inside.
'story' becomes 'lie' (I've seen this before).
'ref' enclosing 'lie' is 'RELIEF'.

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for relief that I've seen before include "Easement from pain or stress" , "Comfort; easing" , "Alleviation - charity - raised decoration" , "That's a load off my mind" , "Break" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Telegraph.
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.