Crossword Genius

American industrial leader, old and pale of face (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

iowan

'american' is the definition.
(someone from Iowa)

'industrial leader old and pale of face' is the wordplay.
'leader' says to take the initial letters.
'old' becomes 'o' (abbreviation).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'pale of face' becomes 'wan' (I've seen this in another clue).
The initial letter of 'industrial' is 'i'.
'i'+'o'+'wan'='IOWAN'

(Other definitions for iowan that I've seen before include "Someone from the Midwest - a wino? (anag)" , "From Des Moines, say?" , "Midwesterner" , "From a US state, capital Des Moines" , "American" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app