Crossword Genius

Officer briefly laid on fine blanket (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

generic

'blanket' is the definition.
(as in a blanket term or generic term)

'officer briefly laid on fine' is the wordplay.
'officer briefly' becomes 'gen' (abbreviation for general; 'briefly' asks for a short form).
'laid on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'fine' becomes 'eric' (I've seen this before).
'gen'+'eric'='GENERIC'

(Other definitions for generic that I've seen before include "Non-proprietary (drug)" , "Applicable to an entire class or group" , "Of a whole genus or group" , "Applicable to a whole class or group" , "Collective" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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