Crossword Genius

Harsh Dickensian Dr — niggard, sadly (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gradgrind

'harsh dickensian' is the definition.
(strict teacher in Dickens' Hard Times)

'dr niggard sadly' is the wordplay.
'sadly' is an anagram indicator.
'dr'+'niggard'='drniggard'
'drniggard' is an anagram of 'GRADGRIND'.

(Other definitions for gradgrind that I've seen before include "'Facts' fanatic (Hard Times)" , "Merchant in Hard Times (Dickens)" , "Dickens's 'facts' schoolteacher" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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