Crossword Genius

Object to layabout from the country (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

italy

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the country' is the definition.
(Italy is an example)

'object to layabout' is the wordplay.
'object' becomes 'it' (pronoun for an inanimate object).
'to layabout' becomes 'aly' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'it'+'aly'='ITALY'

'from' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for italy that I've seen before include "Country of Bologna, Bari and Brescia" , "Founder member of the EEC" , "Country of southern Europe" , "Land of Tuscany and Umbria" , "South European country" .)

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