Crossword Genius

Aggressively masculine revolutionary embraces church (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

macho

'aggressively masculine' is the definition.
(macho means aggressively masculine)

'revolutionary embraces church' is the wordplay.
'revolutionary' becomes 'mao' (Chinese leader Mao Zedong).
'embraces' is an insertion indicator.
'church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'mao' placed around 'ch' is 'MACHO'.

(Other definitions for macho that I've seen before include "Butch" , "Jock" , "Laddish" , "Ultra-masculine" , "Ostentatiously virile" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.