Crossword Genius

Patriarch embraces Liberal struggle (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

flounder

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

'struggle' is the definition.
(flounder can mean to struggle)

'patriarch embraces liberal' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'liberal' could be 'l' (abbreviation) and 'l' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'founder' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for flounder that I've seen before include "Thrash about helplessly around the fish" , "Flatfish - behave awkwardly" , "Small flatfish" , "Grope around" , "fumble?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.