Crossword Genius

Sham aims of one providing hoods (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mafiosi

'hoods' is the definition.
(hood can mean a mafia member or mafioso)

'sham aims of one' is the wordplay.
'sham' indicates anagramming the letters (sham means fake or pretend).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'aims'+'of'='aimsof'
'aimsof' anagrammed gives 'mafios'.
'mafios'+'i'='MAFIOSI'

'providing' is the link.

(Other definitions for mafiosi that I've seen before include "family men" , "Organized criminals" , "Sicilian criminals" , "Sicilian gangsters" , "People in Italian criminal organisation" .)

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.