Crossword Genius

College in university ranks visionary specialists? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

oculists

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'specialists?' is the definition.
(oculist is a kind of specialist)

'college in university ranks visionary' is the wordplay.
'college' becomes 'c'.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'university' becomes 'ou'.
'ranks visionary' becomes 'lists' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'c' inserted inside 'ou' is 'ocu'.
'ocu'+'lists'='OCULISTS'

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(Other definitions for oculists that I've seen before include "Specialists in treatment of eye diseases" , "Specialists in treatment of the eyes" , "Eye defect experts" , "Specialists in care of the eyes" , "Specialist in treatment of eye ailments" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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