Crossword Genius

Sort of figure a long coat disguises (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

octagonal

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'sort of figure a long coat disguises' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'sort of figure a long' is the wordplay.
'sort of figure' becomes 'octagon' ().
'long' becomes 'l'.
'octagon'+'a'+'l'='OCTAGONAL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for octagonal that I've seen before include "Having eight straight sides" , "with quite a few sides" , "with certain sides" , "Eight-sided" , "With eight sides and angles" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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