Reasonable to take king for an ascetic (5)
![Ross](/clue/static/ross-mug.min.png)
I believe the answer is:
fakir
'for an ascetic' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'reasonable to take king' is the wordplay.
'reasonable' becomes 'fair' (synonyms).
'to take' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are taken in).
'king' becomes 'K' (abbreviation for king in chess).
'fair' placed around 'k' is 'FAKIR'.
(Other definitions for fakir that I've seen before include "Holy man of the East" , "Religious mendicant in India" , "Indian religious ascetic" , "Eastern holy man" , "Ascetic in India" .)