Crossword Genius

Person at sea embraces Saint Nicholas, say (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tsar

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

'person' is the definition.
The answer is an example.

'sea embraces saint nicholas say' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'saint' could be 's' and 's' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'tar' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'at' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tsar that I've seen before include "Nicholas II, say" , "specific authority" , "Male monarch" , "Tyrant" , "Russian ruler (S, not Z)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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