Crossword Genius

Threat by the Italian (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

peril

'threat' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'by the italian' is the wordplay.
'by' becomes 'per'.
'the italian' becomes 'il' (the in Italian).
'per'+'il'='PERIL'

(Other definitions for peril that I've seen before include "risk" , "Quest" , "Immediate danger" , "Danger, hazard" , "Source of danger" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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.