Crossword Genius

Mean to get rid of book, being irritable (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

itchy

'irritable' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'mean to get rid of book' is the wordplay.
'mean' becomes 'bitchy'.
'to get rid of' is a deletion indicator.
'book' becomes 'b'.
'bitchy' with 'b' taken out is 'ITCHY'.

'being' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for itchy that I've seen before include "Causing irritation to skin" , "Affected by desire" , "Tingling - desirous" , "Feeling as if one wants to scratch" , "Wanting a scratch?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.