Crossword Genius

In the red lippy, cuddling Victor (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

insolvent

'in the red' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'lippy cuddling victor' is the wordplay.
'lippy' becomes 'insolent' (I've seen this before).
'cuddling' indicates putting letters inside.
'victor' becomes 'v' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'insolent' enclosing 'v' is 'INSOLVENT'.

(Other definitions for insolvent that I've seen before include "Broke" , "Gone bust, without a bean" , "Unable to pay debts owed" , "deep in debt?" , "unable to raise the wind" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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