Male soldiers capturing unknown islanders (7)
I believe the answer is:
manxmen
'islanders' is the definition.
(inhabitants of the Isle of Man)
'male soldiers capturing unknown' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'man' (man is a kind of male**).
'soldiers' becomes 'men' (I've seen this before).
'capturing' indicates putting letters inside.
'unknown' becomes 'x' (algebra).
'man'+'men'='manmen'
'manmen' placed around 'x' is 'MANXMEN'.
I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.