Crossword Genius

Is regressive ladies' man, seen now and then, continent? (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

asia

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

'continent?' is the definition.
(Asia is an example)

'is regressive ladies' man seen now and' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'man' could be 'si' and 'si' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'aa' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'then' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for asia that I've seen before include "Heavily populated area" , "Continent bordering three oceans" , "It has most of the earth's population" , "space for economic expansion?" , "Huge landmass" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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