Crossword Genius

Mistress of curate's no different (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

courtesan

'mistress' is the definition.
(I know that courtesan is a type of mistress)

'of curate's no different' is the wordplay.
'of' becomes 'o''.
'no' becomes 'n' (common abbreviation).
'different' indicates an anagram (letters placed in a different order).
'o'+'curates'+'n'='ocuratesn'
'ocuratesn' with letters rearranged gives 'COURTESAN'.

(Other definitions for courtesan that I've seen before include "loose woman" , "Fanny Hill, perhaps" , "Kept woman" , "High-class prostitute" , "odalisque" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app