Crossword Genius

Airmen in court: NCO and an artificer (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

craftsman

'artificer' is the definition.
('craftsman' can be a synonym of 'artificer')

'airmen in court nco and an' is the wordplay.
'airmen' becomes 'raf'.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'court' becomes 'ct'.
'nco' becomes 'sm' (abbreviation for sergeant major, a type of NCO).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'raf' put inside 'ct' is 'craft'.
'craft'+'sm'+'an'='CRAFTSMAN'

(Other definitions for craftsman that I've seen before include "Artisan" , "Carpenter, say" , "Skilled worker" , "Expert" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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