Crossword Genius

Skulk about church after feeling diminished (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mooch

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

'church after feeling diminished' is the wordplay.
'church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'feeling' becomes 'mood' (mood is a kind of feeling).
'diminished' means to remove the last letter.
'mood' with its final letter taken off is 'moo'.
'ch' after 'moo' is 'MOOCH'.

'about' is the link.

(Other definitions for mooch that I've seen before include "Loiter listlessly" , "Loiter in bored fashion" , "Loiter in bored manner" , "Move aimlessly" , "Wander aimlessly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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