Crossword Genius

Shrewd like famous pharaoh, leader of Egyptians (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

astute

'shrewd' is the definition.
(I know that shrewd can be written as astute)

'like famous pharaoh leader of egyptians' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'as'.
'famous pharaoh' becomes 'tut' (short for Tutankhamun).
'leader of' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letter of 'egyptians' is 'e'.
'as'+'tut'+'e'='ASTUTE'

(Other definitions for astute that I've seen before include "Wise" , "Perspicacious" , "Peerceptive" , "Percipient" , "Shrewd, canny" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph and The Times.
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