Crossword Genius

Sporty type allowed to spike articles (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

athlete

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

'allowed to spike articles' is the wordplay.
'allowed' becomes 'let' (to let is to allow or permit).
'to spike' is an insertion indicator.
'articles' becomes 'athe' (two examples of the part-of-speech: a+the).
'let' put within 'athe' is 'ATHLETE'.

(Other definitions for athlete that I've seen before include "One trained to compete in sports" , "Eg long jumper" , "Holmes, perhaps" , "Sprinter, say" , "One trains in sport" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app