Crossword Genius

Middle-Easterner lives with painter and priest (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

israeli

'middle-easterner' is the definition.

'lives with painter and priest' is the wordplay.
'lives' becomes 'is' ('be' can be a synonym of 'live').
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'painter' becomes 'ra'.
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'priest' becomes 'eli' (biblical figure).
'is'+'ra'+'eli'='ISRAELI'

(Other definitions for israeli that I've seen before include "countryman" , "See member of modern state" , "Benjamin Netanyahu, for instance" , "Inhabitant of Tel Aviv, say" , "One from the Middle East" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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