Crossword Genius

Individual joining hospital department with complaint (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

entrant

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

'complaint' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how they can define each other.

'individual joining hospital department' is the wordplay.
'individual' becomes 'rant' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'joining' says to put letters next to each other.
'hospital department' becomes 'ENT' (abbreviation for Ear, Nose and Throat department).
'rant' put after 'ent' is 'ENTRANT'.

'with' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for entrant that I've seen before include "Who goes in" , "New participant" , "Participant in competition" , "Competitor, contestant" , "Candidate" .)

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