Crossword Genius

Time I’m given backing in modest courtesy (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

comity

'courtesy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'time i'm given backing in modest' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 't'.
'given' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'backing' says the letters should be written backwards.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'modest' becomes 'coy' (I've seen this before**).
't'+'im'='tim'
'tim' back-to-front is 'mit'.
'mit' inserted within 'coy' is 'COMITY'.

(Other definitions for comity that I've seen before include "Courteousness" , "Politeness" , "Civilised state of affairs" , "Civility" .)

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