Crossword Genius

Paramount pair figured in a clip (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

principal

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'paramount' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'pair figured in a clip' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'pair' could be 'pr' (abbreviation) and 'pr' is found within the answer.
'in' is present in the answer.
'a' is present in the answer.
an anagram of 'clip' is 'cipl' which is present in the left over letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for principal that I've seen before include "British civil servant" , "Capital, or debt, on which interest is calculated" , "Source of income" , "First in order of importance" , "Head teacher, say" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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