Crossword Genius

Forceful companion, weak-looking on the outside (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

punchy

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

'companion weak-looking on the outside' is the wordplay.
'companion' becomes 'ch' (I've seen this in other clues).
'weak-looking' becomes 'puny'.
'on the outside' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'ch' placed inside 'puny' is 'PUNCHY'.

(Other definitions for punchy that I've seen before include "Hard-hitting" , "Sharp and powerful" , "Forceful" , "Cutting" , "Incisive" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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