Humorous ridicule which affronted nurses (5)

I believe the answer is:

chaff

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'humorous ridicule' is the definition.
'chaff' can be an answer for 'ridicule' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'humorous' bit.

'which affronted nurses' is the wordplay.
'nurses' indicates a hidden word (nurse can mean holding closely).
'CHAFF' can be found hidden inside 'which affronted'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chaff that I've seen before include "It's separated from wheat during threshing" , "something worth little" , "Laugh at" , "shells" , "Husks - jokes" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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