Crossword Genius

Sign racket backfiring for Brezhnev, say? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

leonid

'brezhnev say?' is the definition.
(Leonid Brezhnev)

'sign racket backfiring' is the wordplay.
'sign' becomes 'leo' (Leo is an example**).
'racket' becomes 'din' (I've seen this before).
'backfiring' says the letters should be written backwards.
'din' in reverse letter order is 'nid'.
'leo'+'nid'='LEONID'

'for' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for leonid that I've seen before include "- Brezhnev, Russian president" , "Small meteor" , "Brezhnev, for one" , "-- Brezhnev, former Soviet leader" , "bit of a shower" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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