Crossword Genius

Male representative before a battle (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

magenta

'battle' is the definition.
(Magenta is an example)

'male representative before a' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'representative' becomes 'agent' (agent is a kind of representative**).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'm'+'agent'+'a'='MAGENTA'

(Other definitions for magenta that I've seen before include "this might be an ink" , "Light purplish-red" , "Shade of purple" , "Reddish purple" , "Deep purplish red" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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.