Crossword Genius

Suffering loss of first husband, however unlucky (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tough

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

'suffering loss of first husband however' is the wordplay.
'suffering loss of' suggests deleting specific letters.
'first husband' becomes 'h' (1st letter of 'husband').
'however' becomes 'though' (synonyms).
'though' with 'h' removed is 'TOUGH'.

(Other definitions for tough that I've seen before include "Difficult or leathery" , "Made to withstand abuse" , "Strong - difficult" , "Difficult to cut and chew" , "Hard to cut or chew" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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