Crossword Genius

Inspire where the writer's Conservative, not Liberal (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

imbue

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

'the writer's conservative not liberal' is the wordplay.
'the writer's' becomes 'im' (both could mean 'the crossword setter is').
'conservative' becomes 'blue' (I've seen this before).
'not' suggests deleting specific letters.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'blue' with 'l' removed is 'bue'.
'im'+'bue'='IMBUE'

'where' is the link.

(Other definitions for imbue that I've seen before include "Suffuse with colour" , "Endow" , "Instil - soak" , "Fill with a feeling or quality" , "Suffuse - soak" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.