Crossword Genius

Getting hold of top mathematician (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

capturing

'getting hold of' is the definition.
(capturing is a kind of getting hold of)

'top mathematician' is the wordplay.
'top' becomes 'cap' (cap is a kind of top**).
'mathematician' becomes 'turing' (Alan Turing).
'cap'+'turing'='CAPTURING'

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