Crossword Genius

Puritanical sort of curmudgeon needing internal examination? (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

moraliser

'puritanical sort' is the definition.
(a puritanical person)

'curmudgeon needing internal examination?' is the wordplay.
'curmudgeon' becomes 'miser' (both can mean a selfish or bad-tempered person).
'needing internal' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'examination?' becomes 'oral' (oral is a kind of examination).
'miser' placed around 'oral' is 'MORALISER'.

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for moraliser that I've seen before include "Ethical speaker" , "preacher" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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.