Crossword Genius

More painful right in middle of rambling rose (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sorer

'more painful' is the definition.
('sore' can be a synonym of 'painful')

'right in middle of rambling rose' is the wordplay.
'right' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'in middle of' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'rambling' indicates anagramming the letters.
'rose' is an anagram of 'soer'.
'r' put into 'soer' is 'SORER'.

(Other definitions for sorer that I've seen before include "Comparatively vexed" , "More painful or vexed" , "more resentful" , "more upset" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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