Crossword Genius

Trim and quaintly pleasing, almost (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cut

'trim' is the definition.
('cut' can be a synonym of 'trim')

'quaintly pleasing almost' is the wordplay.
'quaintly pleasing' becomes 'cute' (I've seen this before).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'cute' with its final letter taken off is 'CUT'.

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for cut that I've seen before include "Hacked off" , "Clip" , "Wounded" , "Incise" , "Shorten; remove" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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