Crossword Genius

Washerwoman makes the French take their clothes off (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

laundress

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'washerwoman' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'the french take their clothes off' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'take' could be 'r' (abbreviation for 'recipe', Latin for 'take') and 'r' is present in the answer.
'the french' could be 'de' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'de' is found within the leftover letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'makes' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for laundress that I've seen before include "Woman who washes clothes for a living" , "A professional lady washer of clothes" , "Disguise for jailbreaker in famous tale" , "Cleaner" , "Woman washing clothes" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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