Crossword Genius

Snapper arrived before tailless ray (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

camera

'snapper' is the definition.
(cameras go snap)

'arrived before tailless ray' is the wordplay.
'arrived' becomes 'came' (come can mean to appear or arrive).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'tailless' means to remove the last letter (the tail of the word is removed).
'ray' with its last letter removed is 'ra'.
'came'+'ra'='CAMERA'

(Other definitions for camera that I've seen before include "TV/film equipment" , "source of shots?" , "brownie perhaps" , "in judge's private room" , "Image recording apparatus" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.