Crossword Genius

Short row about nothing (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nil

'nothing' is the definition.
(eg nil is zero in football)

'short row about' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'row' becomes 'line' (as in a row of things).
'about' is a reversal indicator.
'line' with its last letter removed is 'lin'.
'lin' in reverse letter order is 'NIL'.

(Other definitions for nil that I've seen before include "Nix, nada, nothing" , "Latin zero" , "duck" , "Zero, no score" , "Nothing - in Latin" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.