Crossword Genius

Give rough treatment to new worker he takes in

Ross

I believe the answer is:

manhandle

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'give rough treatment to' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'new worker he takes in' is the wordplay.
'new' becomes 'n'.
'worker' becomes 'hand' (hand is a kind of worker).
'he takes' becomes 'male' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'n'+'hand'='nhand'
'nhand' placed within 'male' is 'MANHANDLE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for manhandle that I've seen before include "Treat roughly, or move by human effort alone" , "Push (someone) about roughly" , "Mistreat" , "Give rough treatment to" , "Knock around" .)

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