Crossword Genius

Revolutionary communist near to getting authority in the Midlands (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

derby

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'authority in the midlands' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

'revolutionary communist near to getting' is the wordplay.
'revolutionary' is a reversal indicator.
'communist' becomes 'red' (red is a kind of communist).
'near' becomes 'by' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to getting' says to put letters next to each other.
'red' in reverse letter order is 'der'.
'der'+'by'='DERBY'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for derby that I've seen before include "Local contest" , "Sports match between local rival teams" , "close match?" , "Type of hat" , "Classic horse-race" .)

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.