Crossword Genius

Mean pinching last of the fruit (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pear

'fruit' is the definition.
(pear is a kind of fruit)

'mean pinching last of the' is the wordplay.
'mean' becomes 'par' (I've seen this before).
'pinching' is an insertion indicator (taking inside).
'last of' suggests the final letters.
The last letter of 'the' is 'e'.
'par' enclosing 'e' is 'PEAR'.

(Other definitions for pear that I've seen before include "Tasty fruit to reap" , "Orchard fruit" , "Alternative to apple" , "Fruit sounds like two of a kind" , "A fruit; sounds like couple" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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