Crossword Genius

Loose faun sent off (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

unfasten

'loose' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'faun sent off' is the wordplay.
'off' indicates anagramming the letters.
'faun'+'sent'='faunsent'
'faunsent' anagrammed gives 'UNFASTEN'.

(Other definitions for unfasten that I've seen before include "Nun's fate (anag.)" , "Let go" , "Undo" , "tie? No" , "Unlock" .)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app