Crossword Genius

Following fool's gold drained light battery (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

assault

'battery' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'following fool's gold drained light' is the wordplay.
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'fool's' becomes 'ass' (ass is a kind of fool).
'gold' becomes 'Au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold).
'drained' suggests removing the centre.
'light' with its centre taken out is 'lt'.
'ass'+'au' is 'assau'.
'assau'+'lt'='ASSAULT'

(Other definitions for assault that I've seen before include "set about" , "Attack violently" , "Strike" , "Sudden violent attack" , "Attack physically" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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