Crossword Genius

Great man is tense when speaking (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

titan

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

'tense when speaking' is the wordplay.
'tense' becomes 'tighten' (I've seen this before).
'when speaking' shows a homophone (sound like).
'tighten' sounds like 'TITAN'.

'is' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for titan that I've seen before include "One of elder gods defeated by Zeus" , "one of great importance" , "Huge character" , "An old Greek god - Atlas was one" , "Person of great importance" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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