Crossword Genius

Stay close to tailless mammoth (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hug

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'stay close' is the definition.
'hug' can be an answer for 'stay' (thesaurus). I am not certain of the 'close' bit.

'tailless mammoth' is the wordplay.
'tailless' means to remove the last letter (the tail of the word is removed).
'mammoth' becomes 'huge' (synonyms).
'huge' with its last letter taken away is 'HUG'.

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hug that I've seen before include "Tightly embrace" , "A hearty embrace as of bear" , "Clasp" , "Tight embrace" , "Cuddle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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