Crossword Genius

Represent naughty boy’s smile (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

symbolise

'represent' is the definition.
('represent'->'symbolize' is in my internal thesaurus and 'ize'->'ise')

'naughty boy's smile' is the wordplay.
'naughty' indicates anagramming the letters.
'boys'+'smile'='boyssmile'
'boyssmile' with letters rearranged gives 'SYMBOLISE'.

(Other definitions for symbolise that I've seen before include "Represent or be a sign of" , "Represent, stand for" .)

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.