Churlish (5)

I think it could be either:

gruff

surly

'churlish' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

This is all the clue.

(Other definitions for gruff that I've seen before include "Abrupt in sound or manner" , "Abrupt in manner - rough and low in pitch" , "Rough-sounding" , "Hoarse" , "Surly -- rough-spoken" .)

I've seen this clue in the New York Times, the King Feature Syndicate, the L.A. Times Sunday, the L.A. Times Magazine, the Newsday.com, The Telegraph, the Evening Standard, the Wall Street Journal and The Times.

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