Crossword Genius

About the second strike, say nothing (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hist

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'about the second strike say nothing' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'about the second strike' is the wordplay.
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'the second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'strike' becomes 'hit' (synonyms).
's' put inside 'hit' is 'HIST'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for hist that I've seen is " Silence".)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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