Crossword Genius

Director’s after Charlie’s guts? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cleans

'guts?' is the definition.
(gut can mean to clean something's insides out)

'director's after charlie's' is the wordplay.
'director's' becomes 'Lean's' (film director David Lean, 1908-1991).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'charlie' becomes 'c' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'leans' put after 'c' is 'CLEANS'.

(Other definitions for cleans that I've seen before include "Tidies up" , "Washes, removes dirt" , "Valets" , "See 14" , "Frees from dirt" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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