Crossword Genius

Scratch the two first letters out, dear (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abrade

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

'two first letters out dear' is the wordplay.
'two first letters' becomes 'ab' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'out' indicates anagramming the letters.
'dear' with letters rearranged gives 'rade'.
'ab'+'rade'='ABRADE'

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for abrade that I've seen before include "Wear away by friction" , "Day breaks? > Start as before" , "Scrape away, erode" , "Chafe" , "Shave" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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