Crossword Genius

Jabbing a petty officer with a ruler (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

poking

'jabbing' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'a petty officer with a ruler' is the wordplay.
'a petty officer' becomes 'po' (naval abbreviation).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'a ruler' becomes 'king' (king is a kind of ruler).
'po'+'king'='POKING'

(Another definition for poking that I've seen is " Attacking with jabs".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.
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.