Crossword Genius

Old general has a hold over father (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

agrippa

'old general' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a hold over father' is the wordplay.
'hold' becomes 'grip' (synonyms).
'over' means one lot of letters go next to another (in a down clue, some letters go over others).
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'a'+'grip'+'pa'='AGRIPPA'

'has' is the link.

(Other definitions for agrippa that I've seen before include "General who beat Mark Antony at Actium" , "10 [GENERAL]" , "one of the Herods" , "Roman leader" , "Acts reported of this king" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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