Crossword Genius

Provoke game bird — not good (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rouse

'provoke' is the definition.
(I know that provoke can be written as rouse)

'game bird not good' is the wordplay.
'game bird' becomes 'grouse' (grouse is a kind of game bird).
'not' suggests deleting specific letters.
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'grouse' with 'g' taken away is 'ROUSE'.

(Other definitions for rouse that I've seen before include "Waken" , "Activate, wake up" , "Bring out of sleep" , "Disturb" , "Cause to become awake" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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