Crossword Genius

Lesbian almost touching something precious (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sapphire

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'something precious' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'lesbian almost touching' is the wordplay.
'lesbian' becomes 'sapphic' (synonyms).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'touching' becomes 're' (re can mean touching or regarding).
'sapphic' with its final letter taken away is 'sapphi'.
'sapphi'+'re'='SAPPHIRE'

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(Other definitions for sapphire that I've seen before include "Birthstone for September" , "His paper can be turned into a jewel" , "precious item" , "Precious stone of rich blue" , "Precious transparent stone of blue corundum" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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