Crossword Genius

Bold wife cutting girdle fastening (13)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

swashbuckling

'bold' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'wife cutting girdle fastening' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w'.
'cutting' is an insertion indicator (some letters cut their way into a word).
'girdle' becomes 'sash' ('sash' can be a synonym of 'girdle').
'fastening' becomes 'buckling' (buckling is a kind of fastening**).
'w' going inside 'sash' is 'swash'.
'swash'+'buckling'='SWASHBUCKLING'

(Other definitions for swashbuckling that I've seen before include "Full of bravado" , "Taking part in daring adventures" , "Dashing" , "Flamboyantly adventurous" , "Daredevil" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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