Crossword Genius

I turn to follow a male friend (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

amigo

'friend' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'i turn to follow a male' is the wordplay.
'turn' becomes 'go' (a person's move in a board game**).
'to follow' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'i'+'go'='igo'
'a'+'m'='am'
'igo' after 'am' is 'AMIGO'.

(Other definitions for amigo that I've seen before include "friend from Barcelona" , "in a foreign land, my friend?" , "Friend in Spanish-speaking areas" , "Hispanic comrade" , "Mate in Madrid?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Times.
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