Crossword Genius

I am after gold fake (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

impostor

'fake' is the definition.
('impostor' can be a synonym of 'fake')

'i am after gold' is the wordplay.
'i am' becomes 'im'.
'after' becomes 'post' (I've seen this before).
'gold' becomes 'or' ('or' is the heraldic name for gold).
'im'+'post'+'or'='IMPOSTOR'

(Other definitions for impostor that I've seen before include "phoney!" , "a fraud" , "One pretends to be someone else to deceive" , "Charlatan - is to romp (anag)" , "One who isn't what he claims to be" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app