Crossword Genius

Strike a root vegetable soundly (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

beat

'strike' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a root vegetable soundly' is the wordplay.
'a root vegetable' becomes 'beet' (beet is a kind of root vegetable).
'soundly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'beet' is a homophone of 'BEAT'.

(Other definitions for beat that I've seen before include "Thrash, punish physically" , "Tan" , "Pound - defeat" , "Defeat; rhythm" , "Thrash with rhythm?" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app