Crossword Genius

10001000 teachers might be kind of shy (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

coconut

'kind of shy' is the definition.
(coconut shy is a traditional game)

'10001000 teachers' is the wordplay.
'10001000' becomes 'coco' (c is roman numeral for 100 c0c0).
'teachers' becomes 'nut' (National Union of Teachers).
'coco'+'nut'='COCONUT'

'might be' is the link.

(Other definitions for coconut that I've seen before include "Large palm fruit" , "Fruit at which to shy" , "Shy occupier" , "fair target" , "that's hairy and tough!" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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