Crossword Genius

Outspoken French satire without the letter 'e' (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

candid

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'outspoken' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'without the letter e' is the wordplay.
'without' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'the letter' becomes 'd'.
'e' becomes 'canid' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'd' going within 'canid' is 'CANDID'.

'french satire' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for candid that I've seen before include "Frank, forthright" , "Blunt; frank" , "Truthful and straightforward" , "Plain" , "Very clear" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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