Crossword Genius

Old he-man trained in birthplace (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

homeland

'birthplace' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'old he-man trained' is the wordplay.
'trained' indicates anagramming the letters (to train can mean to grow something into a shape).
'old'+'he'+'man'='oldheman'
'oldheman' with letters rearranged gives 'HOMELAND'.

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for homeland that I've seen before include "Mother country" , "Native soil" , "Original state" , "Native country" , "may be seen on TV" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app