Crossword Genius

European allowed to hug blokes for a bit (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

element

'a bit' is the definition.

'european allowed to hug blokes' is the wordplay.
'european' becomes 'e' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'allowed' becomes 'let' (I've seen this before).
'to hug' is an insertion indicator.
'blokes' becomes 'men' (I've seen this in other clues).
'let' going around 'men' is 'lement'.
'e'+'lement'='ELEMENT'

'for' is the link.

(Other definitions for element that I've seen before include "Earth, water, air or fire" , "Wire in electric fire" , "A first principle, found in a kettle?" , "Component - factor" , "Eg copper" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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