Crossword Genius

Awful prudes grasping fool beat (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

surpassed

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'beat' is the definition.
The answer and definition are different parts of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives sometimes define each other.

'awful prudes grasping fool' is the wordplay.
'awful' indicates anagramming the letters.
'grasping' is an insertion indicator.
'fool' becomes 'ass' (both can mean a stupid person).
'prudes' with letters rearranged gives 'surped'.
'surped' placed around 'ass' is 'SURPASSED'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for surpassed that I've seen before include "capped" , "Outdid" , "beaten" , "outclassed" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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