Crossword Genius

Pub's to exclude one caught being uncouth (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

barbaric

'uncouth' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'pub's to exclude one caught' is the wordplay.
'pub' becomes 'bar' (I've seen this before).
'to exclude' becomes 'bar' ('bar' can be a synonym of 'exclude').
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'bar'+'bar'+'i'+'c'='BARBARIC'

'being' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for barbaric that I've seen before include "Savagely cruel" , "Cruel and brutal" , "lacking in refinement" , "Like 24 [BRUTE]" , "Cruel; primitive" .)

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.