Crossword Genius

Say Ivan Toney's shots always rebound? Only the headers (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tsar

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

'say ivan' is the definition.
'tsar' can be an answer for 'ivan' (I've seen this in another clue). I'm unsure of the 'say' bit.

'toney's shots always rebound? only the headers' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'sar' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tsar that I've seen before include "Star for a Russian emperor" , "Russian leader" , "Nicholas II, say" , "Powerful man" , "Rats to the Russian emperor" .)

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.