Crossword Genius

Taste is pretty much wasted on writer (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nibble

'taste' is the definition.
(as in nibbling some food)

'pretty much wasted on writer' is the wordplay.
'pretty much' means to remove the last letter.
'wasted' becomes 'blew' (eg to blow money is to waste it).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'writer' becomes 'nib' (something which writes).
'blew' with its final letter taken away is 'ble'.
'ble' after 'nib' is 'NIBBLE'.

'is' is the link.

(Other definitions for nibble that I've seen before include "Bite gently and eat a little at a time" , "express tentative interest" , "Take tiny bites" , "Take small bites of" , "Bite off very small pieces" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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