Crossword Genius

Like a goose? Wife leaves reply in English (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

anserine

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'like a goose?' is the definition.
(anserine means like a goose)

'wife leaves reply in english' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w'.
'leaves' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'reply' becomes 'answer' (synonyms).
'in english' becomes 'ine' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'answer' with 'w' removed is 'anser'.
'anser'+'ine'='ANSERINE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for anserine that I've seen before include "Silly" , "Foolish" , "Like a goose" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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