Crossword Genius

Hormone; take second in time for smear (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

insult

'for smear' is the definition.

'hormone take second in' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'second' could be 's' (common abbreviation) and 's' is found within the answer.
'in' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ult' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'time' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for insult that I've seen before include "An addition to injury?" , "Speak rudely or offensively about" , "Slight - affront" , "Speak or act in way designed to hurt" , "Treat with abuse" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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