Crossword Genius

Row about theologian being a fraud (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fiddle

'a fraud' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'row about theologian' is the wordplay.
'row' becomes 'file' (I've seen this in another clue).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'theologian' becomes 'DD' (Doctor of Divinity degree).
'file' placed around 'dd' is 'FIDDLE'.

'being' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for fiddle that I've seen before include "Awkward task" , "doctor" , "do crookedly with books" , "Fraudulent instrument?" , "Toy - string instrument - cheat" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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