Crossword Genius

Retired Parisian perhaps with no capital cut costs (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

retrench

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'costs' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs, they are not in the same form of the verb.

'retired parisian perhaps with no capital cut' is the wordplay.
'retired parisian perhaps with no capital' becomes 're' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'cut' becomes 'trench' (I've seen this before).
're'+'trench'='RETRENCH'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for retrench that I've seen before include "Reduce one's workforce" , "Cut back during hard times" , "Once more dig deep" , "Reduce spending in hard times" , "Reduce spending in response to economic difficulty" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app