Crossword Genius

Hold woman after bile was spread (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

believe

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

'hold woman' is the definition.
'believe' can be an answer for 'hold' (synonyms). I'm not certain of the 'woman' bit.

'bile was spread' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
an anagram of 'bile' is 'beli' which is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'eve' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'after' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for believe that I've seen before include "Give credence to" , "Have faith; understand" , "Think" , "Have confidence in" , "Credit; accept" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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