Crossword Genius

Bloke with skill turned to chant (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mantra

'chant' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'bloke with skill turned' is the wordplay.
'bloke' becomes 'man' (I've seen this before**).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'skill' becomes 'art' (I've seen this before).
'turned' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'art' reversed gives 'tra'.
'man'+'tra'='MANTRA'

'to' is the link.

(Other definitions for mantra that I've seen before include "Words repeated as an aid to meditation" , "Much-repeated phrase" , "Incantation, Hindu psalm" , "that > may be repeated in reflection" , "word to help concentration" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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