Crossword Genius

Kind but uncouth fellows nourish mad dog on the loose (5,8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rough diamonds

'kind but uncouth fellows' is the definition.

'nourish mad dog on the loose' is the wordplay.
'on the loose' indicates anagramming the letters.
'nourish'+'mad'+'dog'='nourishmaddog'
'nourishmaddog' anagrammed gives 'ROUGH DIAMONDS'.

(Other definitions for rough diamonds that I've seen before include "simple, honest geezers" , "More than one good bloke lacking social graces" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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