Crossword Genius

Contributor's verse accepted by US soldier with hesitation (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

giver

'contributor's' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'verse accepted by us soldier with hesitation' is the wordplay.
'verse' becomes 'v'.
'accepted by' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are accepted).
'us soldier' becomes 'GI' (GI can mean an American soldier).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound made while hesitating - um, er).
'gi'+'er'='gier'
'v' placed into 'gier' is 'GIVER'.

(Other definitions for giver that I've seen before include "Bestower" , "Present source" , "presenter" , "Donor" .)

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