Crossword Genius

Not entirely light batter (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lam

'batter' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'not entirely light' is the wordplay.
'not entirely' means to remove the last letter.
'light' becomes 'lamp' (lamp is a kind of light).
'lamp' with its final letter taken off is 'LAM'.

(Other definitions for lam that I've seen before include "Hit hard, strike" , "US criminals commonly escape?" , "Hit hard or repeatedly" , "Thump; leg it" , "Beat hard" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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