Crossword Genius

Priest caught removing clothing (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abbe

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

'caught removing clothing' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'nabbed' (I've seen this in another clue).
'removing clothing' says to take the centre (the letters which clothe the word are removed).
The central letters of 'nabbed' are 'ABBE'.

(Other definitions for abbe that I've seen before include "It's a French ecclesiastic, babe" , "French cleric" , "Courtesy title for a French priest" , "Nice clergyman" , "address for a priest" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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