Crossword Genius

Swimmer in short dress (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gar

'swimmer' is the definition.
(gar is a kind of aquatic vertebrate)

'short dress' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'dress' becomes 'garb' ('garb' can be a synonym of 'dress').
'garb' with its final letter removed is 'GAR'.

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for gar that I've seen before include "A fish; cloth scrap (reversed)" , "swimmer" , "Type of fish" , "something fishy here" , "Pike-like fish" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun, The Telegraph and The Times.
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