Crossword Genius

Crush a Muslim dignitary (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pasha

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

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

'crush a' is the wordplay.
'crush' becomes 'pash' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'pash'+'a'='PASHA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pasha that I've seen before include "Ottoman governor" , "foreign officer" , "Civil or military authority in Turkey or Egypt" , "Turkish high-ranker" , "Muslim dignitary" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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