Crossword Genius

Avoid first woman holding poster (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

evade

'avoid' is the definition.
(evading is a kind of avoiding)

'first woman holding poster' is the wordplay.
'first woman' becomes 'eve' (I've seen this before**).
'holding' indicates putting letters inside.
'poster' becomes 'ad'.
'eve' placed around 'ad' is 'EVADE'.

(Other definitions for evade that I've seen before include "Dodge or equivocate" , "Shun, escape" , "Escape (esp. by guile)" , "Keep away from" , "Manage to avoid" .)

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