Crossword Genius

Deftly run female into ditch (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gracefully

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

'deftly run female into ditch' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'deftly run female into' is the wordplay.
'deftly' becomes 'gully' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'run' becomes 'race' (synonyms).
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'into' indicates putting letters inside.
'race'+'f'='racef'
'gully' enclosing 'racef' is 'GRACEFULLY'.

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I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times.
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