Crossword Genius

Official drop before mum cuts great deal (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

diplomat

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'official' is the definition.
(I know that diplomat is a type of official)

'drop before mum cuts great deal' is the wordplay.
'drop before' becomes 'dip' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'before' bit.).
'mum' becomes 'ma' (both can mean mother).
'cuts' is an insertion indicator (some letters cut their way into a word).
'great deal' becomes 'lot' (both can mean a large amount).
'ma' placed into 'lot' is 'lomat'.
'dip'+'lomat'='DIPLOMAT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for diplomat that I've seen before include "eg Ambassador" , "tactful one" , "Official such as an ambassador" , "National representative abroad" , "Foreign representative" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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