Crossword Genius

Half cancelling old-fashioned entry after a person one knows (12)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

acquaintance

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

'person one knows' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'half cancelling old-fashioned entry after a' is the wordplay.
'half' means to take half the letters.
'old-fashioned' becomes 'quaint' (cutely old-fashioned).
'entry' indicates putting letters inside.
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'cancelling' cut in half is 'cance'.
'cance' enclosing 'quaint' is 'cquaintance'.
'cquaintance' after 'a' is 'ACQUAINTANCE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for acquaintance that I've seen before include "Person known slightly" , "Familiarity" , "contact" , "Slight knowledge" , "Familiar person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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.