Crossword Genius

What one may do to cloth softly on doctor (3-6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pre-shrink

'what one may do to cloth' is the definition.
(you might pre-shrink a fabric)

'softly on doctor' is the wordplay.
'softly' becomes 'p' (short for piano, musical term for softly).
'on' becomes 're' ('on' can be mean 'with reference to').
'doctor' becomes 'shrink' (shrink can mean a psychiatrist).
'p'+'re'+'shrink'='PRE-SHRINK'

(Another definition for pre-shrink that I've seen is " Treat (a garment) before use so it keeps its size".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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