Loot German journalist showed off (9)

I believe the answer is:

swaggered

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'showed off' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with communicating as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'loot german journalist' is the wordplay.
'loot' becomes 'swag' (synonyms).
'german' becomes 'ger' (abbreviation).
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
'swag'+'ger'+'ed'='SWAGGERED'

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I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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