Crossword Genius

Straighten out a French divan around noon (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

unbend

'straighten' is the definition.
(I know that straighten can be written as unbend)

'a french divan around noon' is the wordplay.
'a french' becomes 'un' ('a' in French).
'divan' becomes 'bed' (I've seen this before).
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'noon' becomes 'n' (abbreviation).
'bed' enclosing 'n' is 'bend'.
'un'+'bend'='UNBEND'

'out' is the link.

(Other definitions for unbend that I've seen before include "Straighten up, don't be so stiff" , "Become informal" , "Become less stiff or straighten out" , "Relax, relent" , "Cease to stand on one's dignity" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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