Crossword Genius

Loathe examination of French beginning (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

detest

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

'loathe' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'examination of french beginning' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'examination' could be 'test' (synonyms) and 'test' is present in the answer.
'of french' could be 'de' ('of' in French) and 'de' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for detest that I've seen before include "Greatly hate" , "Deplore" , "Really dislike" , "Dislike intensely, loathe" , "Despise or loathe" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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