Crossword Genius

Tempt a number to break the ice (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

entice

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'tempt' is the definition.
(I know that tempt can be written as entice)

'a number to break the ice' is the wordplay.
'a number' becomes 'n' (n can represent any number).
'to' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'break' becomes 'e' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'n' after 'e' is 'en'.
'en'+'t'+'ice'='ENTICE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for entice that I've seen before include "Persuade with promise of reward" , "Ice net (anag)" , "Attract with offers" , "Attract, tempt" , "to offer temptation" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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