Crossword Genius

Celebrity losing a form of appeal touring clubs? That's harsh (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

strict

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

'that's harsh' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'celebrity losing a form of appeal touring' is the wordplay.
'celebrity' becomes 'star' (I've seen this before).
'losing' is a deletion indicator.
'form of appeal touring' becomes 'ict' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'star' with 'a' removed is 'str'.
'str'+'ict'='STRICT'

'clubs?' acts as a link.
This may not be right. It may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for strict that I've seen before include "Not allowing laxity" , "Harsh and severe" , "Rigorous, uncompromising" , "No-nonsense" , "Demanding that rules are observed" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app