Crossword Genius

Steal a work by Piet Mondrian? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abstract

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

'steal' is the definition.
(abstracting is a kind of stealing)

'a work by piet mondrian?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'work' could be 'act' (synonyms) and 'act' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for abstract that I've seen before include "Remove - what isn't tangible" , "Sketchy summary of the main points" , "hard to understand" , "Academic" , "Summary; remove" .)

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.