Crossword Genius

Catching line, quickly thrown as safeguard (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

shield

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

'safeguard' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'catching line quickly thrown' is the wordplay.
'catching' is an insertion indicator.
'line quickly' becomes 'l' (I am not sure about the 'quickly' bit.).
'thrown' becomes 'shied' (I've seen this before).
'l' inserted into 'shied' is 'SHIELD'.

'as' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for shield that I've seen before include "where you may find your bearings" , "Protective cover" , "Protect or conceal" , "Protect, screen" , "Piece of armour carried on arm to protect body" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app