Crossword Genius

Second best hoot (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scream

'hoot' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'second best' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'best' becomes 'cream' (I've seen this before).
's'+'cream'='SCREAM'

(Other definitions for scream that I've seen before include "Scar me (anag)" , "Person who seems extremely funny?" , "Sound terrified" , "Indication of terror - how funny!" , "A long piercing cry as of terror" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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