Crossword Genius

Ransack, tossing lire all over the place (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rife

'all over the place' is the definition.
(both can mean widespread)

'ransack tossing lire' is the wordplay.
'ransack' becomes 'rifle' (rifle can mean to ransack or rob).
'tossing' suggests deleting specific letters (some letters are tossed away).
'lire' becomes 'L' (abbreviation for the currency).
'rifle' with 'l' removed is 'RIFE'.

(Other definitions for rife that I've seen before include "is everywhere" , "Overabundant" , "Widespread like fire" , "raging" , "Prevalent" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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