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Sign of cross almost knocked European character over (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scorpio

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sign' is the definition.
(sign of the zodiac)

'of cross almost knocked european character over' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found in the answer.
'character' could be 'pi' (pi is a kind of character) and 'pi' is present in the answer.
'over' could be 'o' (cricket abbreviation) and 'o' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for scorpio that I've seen before include "Astrological sign" , "Sign of stinging arachnid" , "Zodiac sign like mini-lobster" , "A heavenly body" , "Oct - Nov zodiac sign" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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