Crossword Genius

The force sometimes reduced (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

met

'the force' is the definition.
(I've seen this in other clues)

'sometimes reduced' is the wordplay.
'reduced' indicates a hidden word (reducing the letters in the clue shows the answer).
'MET' is hidden within 'sometimes'.

(Other definitions for met that I've seen before include "Bumped into" , "satisfied" , "Encountered, came into contact" , "Encountered, came across" , "Opera company" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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