Crossword Genius

Love cut flower (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nil

'love' is the definition.
(love and nil mean zero in cricket and football)

'cut flower' is the wordplay.
'cut' means to remove the last letter.
'flower' becomes 'nile' (Nile River is an example).
'nile' with its final letter taken away is 'NIL'.

(Other definitions for nil that I've seen before include "Love" , "You get nothing" , "Nothing, zilch" , "Lacking value" , "Nothing, no value" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app