Crossword Genius

Censor piece probing former virgin? (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

expurgate

'censor' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'piece probing former virgin?' is the wordplay.
'piece' becomes 'gat' (gat is a kind of piece).
'probing' is an insertion indicator (probe can mean to make a hole in).
'former' becomes 'ex'.
'virgin?' becomes 'pure' (synonyms).
'ex'+'pure'='expure'
'gat' placed into 'expure' is 'EXPURGATE'.

(Other definitions for expurgate that I've seen before include "Remove unsuitable matter from (a text)" , "Amend to remove anything deemed offensive - eg pure tax (anag)" , "Remove objectionable matter from book" , "Remove obscene text" , "Edit by modifying parts considered indelicate" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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