Crossword Genius

Friendly clot clutching nickel (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

congenial

'friendly' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'clot clutching nickel' is the wordplay.
'clot' becomes 'congeal' (I've seen this before).
'clutching' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'nickel' becomes 'Ni' (Ni is the chemical symbol for nickel).
'congeal' placed around 'ni' is 'CONGENIAL'.

(Other definitions for congenial that I've seen before include "Having similar interests" , "Harmonious and friendly" , "Suited to one's taste" , "relaxing" , "Pleasant and agreeable" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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