Crossword Genius

Native of Riga, perhaps — extremely eager character (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

letter

'character' is the definition.
(I know that letter is a type of character)

'native of riga perhaps extremely eager' is the wordplay.
'native of riga perhaps' becomes 'lett' (Lett can mean a Latvian - Riga is in Latvia).
'extremely' suggests removing the centre (only the extremes of the word are used).
'eager' with its centre removed is 'er'.
'lett'+'er'='LETTER'

(Other definitions for letter that I've seen before include "Character - mail - landlord" , "Character - landlord - epistle" , "he leases" , "Form of correspondence" , "Alphabetic symbol" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.