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 Telegraph, the Newsday.com, the Wall Street Journal, the Evening Standard, the L.A. Times Magazine, the L.A. Times Sunday, The Times and the King Feature Syndicate.

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