Crossword Genius

Insinuates that man's a saint, supporting wife (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

whispers

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

'insinuates' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with communicating as well as being verbs in their -s form.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?

'man's a saint supporting wife' is the wordplay.
'man' becomes 'his' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'a' becomes 'per' (eg 'one a day' means 'one per day').
'saint' becomes 's'.
'supporting' says to put letters next to each other (in a down clue, some letters go below others).
'wife' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'his'+'per'+'s'='hispers'
'hispers' after 'w' is 'WHISPERS'.

'that' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for whispers that I've seen before include "Speaks soft and low" , "misconstrued by Chinese?" , "unvoiced words" , "Speaks very quietly" , "Breaths words rather than voices them" .)

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