Crossword Genius

Shopkeeper we hear being more offensive (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grosser

'more offensive' is the definition.
('gross' can be similar in meaning to 'offensive')

'shopkeeper we hear' is the wordplay.
'shopkeeper' becomes 'grocer' (I've seen this before).
'we hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'grocer' is a homophone of 'GROSSER'.

'being' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for grosser that I've seen before include "More corpulent" , "more vulgar" .)

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