Crossword Genius

Miss France leaves upset (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ail

'upset' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'miss france leaves' is the wordplay.
'miss' becomes 'fail' (failing is a kind of missing).
'france' becomes 'f'.
'leaves' is a deletion indicator.
'fail' with 'f' taken out is 'AIL'.

(Other definitions for ail that I've seen before include "Bother" , "Become unwell" , "Be unwell, feel poorly" , "upset" , "Cause to feel indisposed" .)

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