Balaclava tarnished to show deity personified (6)

I believe the answer is:

avatar

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'deity personified' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'balaclava tarnished to show' is the wordplay.
'to show' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'AVATAR' can be found hidden inside 'balaclava tarnished'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for avatar that I've seen before include "movie" , "Human or animal manifestation of Vishnu" , "Screen icon" , "Graphic" , "Person seen as embodying a particular ideal" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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