Crossword Genius

Hearty characters becoming bawdy (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

earthy

'bawdy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'hearty characters' is the wordplay.
'characters' indicates anagramming the letters.
'hearty' is an anagram of 'EARTHY'.

'becoming' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for earthy that I've seen before include "Head covering" , "Coarse or gross" , "Like soil; uninhibitedly direct" , "Not far removed from nature" , "Consisting of soil" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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