Crossword Genius

Shortly aiming for painkiller (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aspirin

'for painkiller' is the definition.
(aspirin is a kind of painkiller)

'shortly aiming' is the wordplay.
'shortly' means to remove the last letter.
'aiming' becomes 'aspiring' ('aspire' can be a synonym of 'aim').
'aspiring' with its last letter taken away is 'ASPIRIN'.

(Other definitions for aspirin that I've seen before include "Synthetic analgesic" , "Analgesic over in Paris" , "Analgesic compound" , "Headache killer?" , "Common analgesic drug" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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