Crossword Genius

Beetle could be sailor's car (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scarab

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'beetle' is the definition.
(scarab is a kind of beetle)

'sailor's car' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'sailor' could be 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman) and 'ab' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'scar' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'could be' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for scarab that I've seen before include "Dung beetle - ancient Egyptian cut gem" , "crawler" , "Sacred Eygptian beetle" , "insect" , "Beetle, sacred to the ancient Egyptians" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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