Crossword Genius

Gangster disembowelled musical relative (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grannie

'relative' is the definition.
(grannie is a kind of relative)

'gangster disembowelled musical' is the wordplay.
'disembowelled' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'musical' becomes 'annie' (Annie is a Broadway musical).
'gangster' with its centre taken out is 'gr'.
'gr'+'annie'='GRANNIE'

(Other definitions for grannie that I've seen before include "old lady" , "Older relative" , "senior citizen, perhaps" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun and The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app