Crossword Genius

Spotted large number at church in past (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

blotchy

'spotted' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'large number at church in past' is the wordplay.
'large number' becomes 'lot' (a large amount).
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'past' becomes 'by' (synonyms).
'lot'+'ch'='lotch'
'lotch' going inside 'by' is 'BLOTCHY'.

(Other definitions for blotchy that I've seen before include "Unevenly stained" , "Discoloured in patches" , "Marked with patches" , "With irregular skin discolouration" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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