Crossword Genius

Pass by centre and stare (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

eyeball

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

'pass by centre' is the wordplay.
'pass' becomes 'ball' (both can mean a passing of the ball eg in football).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'centre' becomes 'eye' ('eye' can be a synonym of 'centre').
'ball' put after 'eye' is 'EYEBALL'.

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for eyeball that I've seen before include "Label ye (anag)" , "One faces one in confrontation" , "Ocular orb" , "Stare at closely; organ" , "something in orbit" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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