Crossword Genius

Arguing and in debt by the end of December (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rowing

'arguing' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'in debt by the end of december' is the wordplay.
'in debt' becomes 'owing' (I've seen this before).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the end of' says to take the final letters.
The last letter of 'december' is 'r'.
'owing' after 'r' is 'ROWING'.

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for rowing that I've seen before include "Steven Redgrave's sport" , "Olympic sport; arguing" , "Sculling sport?" , "in dispute" , "Propelling boat with oars" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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.