Crossword Genius

Suffering can start to generate work (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

painting

'work' is the definition.
(I know that painting is a type of labor)

'suffering can start to generate' is the wordplay.
'suffering' becomes 'pain' (suffering is pain).
'can' becomes 'tin' (both are metal containers).
'start to' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'generate' is 'g'.
'pain'+'tin'+'g'='PAINTING'

(Other definitions for painting that I've seen before include "Artwork" , "picture" , "Work of a kind" , "Work of art" , "Artistic work" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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.