Crossword Genius

Worker on Iago, heartless character in Shakespeare (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

antonio

'character in shakespeare' is the definition.
(character in The Merchant of Venice)

'worker on iago heartless' is the wordplay.
'worker' becomes 'ant' (worker is a type of ant).
'heartless' means to remove the middle letters.
'iago' with its middle taken out is 'io'.
'ant'+'on'+'io'='ANTONIO'

(Other definitions for antonio that I've seen before include "merchant threatened by weight loss" , "Shakespearean merchant" , "sea captain in Twelfth Night" , "One contracted for a pound" , "Pound of flesh promiser" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.