Crossword Genius

Hardy hero's cool, pinching grand lawman's post (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

judgeship

'lawman's post' is the definition.
(the post or position of a judge)

'hardy hero's cool pinching grand' is the wordplay.
'hardy hero's' becomes 'judes' (Thomas Hardy character Jude the Obscure).
'cool' becomes 'hip'.
'pinching' is an insertion indicator (taking inside).
'grand' becomes 'g' (synonyms).
'judes'+'hip'='judeship'
'judeship' going around 'g' is 'JUDGESHIP'.

(Another definition for judgeship that I've seen is " Office of a court head".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.