Crossword Genius

Punishes unruly son for self-assertive behaviour (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pushiness

'self-assertive behaviour' is the definition.
(I know that pushiness is a type of self-assertive behaviour)

'punishes unruly son' is the wordplay.
'unruly' is an anagram indicator.
'son' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation for son).
'punishes' with letters rearranged gives 'pushines'.
'pushines'+'s'='PUSHINESS'

'for' is the link.

(Other definitions for pushiness that I've seen before include "Self-assertion; ambition" , "Ambitious quality" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.