Crossword Genius

Root cause of vehicle decay? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

carrot

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

'root cause' is the definition.
'carrot' can be an answer for 'root' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'cause' bit.

'vehicle decay?' is the wordplay.
'vehicle' becomes 'car' (car is a kind of vehicle).
'decay?' becomes 'rot' (rot can mean to decay).
'car'+'rot'='CARROT'

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for carrot that I've seen before include "veg" , "Rewarding vegetable?" , "Root vegetable" , "Vegetable to entice the donkey" , "The vegetable to induce" .)

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