Crossword Genius

Fool getting hard material (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cloth

'material' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'fool getting hard' is the wordplay.
'fool' becomes 'clot' (I've seen this before).
'getting' says to put letters next to each other.
'hard' becomes 'h' (abbreviation used in pencil classifications).
'clot'+'h'='CLOTH'

(Other definitions for cloth that I've seen before include "ministers" , "The clergy" , "Sails" , "rag" , "Textiles" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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