Crossword Genius

To phone us about nothing is cruel (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

callous

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

'to phone us about nothing' is the wordplay.
'to phone' becomes 'call' ('call' can be a synonym of 'phone').
'about' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'nothing' becomes 'O' (O resembles 0).
'us' after 'o' is 'ous'.
'call'+'ous'='CALLOUS'

'is' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for callous that I've seen before include "Emotionally hardened" , "Cruel or unsympathetic" , "Heartless" , "Cruel and unfeeling" , "Insensitive, cruel" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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