Crossword Genius

Smear most of book cover's contents (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

blur

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'smear' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'most of book cover's contents' is the wordplay.
'most of' means to remove the last letter.
'book' becomes 'blue book' (blue book is a kind of book).
'cover's contents' becomes 'r' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'blue' with its last letter removed is 'blu'.
'blu'+'r'='BLUR'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for blur that I've seen before include "Out-of-focus image" , "Indistinct mark" , "Hazy or indistinct representation" , "Befog" , "Group - smudge" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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