Crossword Genius

Touch hat covering Charlie King (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tickle

'touch' is the definition.
(tickle is a kind of touch)

'hat covering charlie king' is the wordplay.
'hat' becomes 'tile' (I've seen this before).
'covering' indicates putting letters inside.
'charlie' becomes 'c' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'king' becomes 'k'.
'c'+'k'='ck'
'tile' placed around 'ck' is 'TICKLE'.

(Other definitions for tickle that I've seen before include "Make to laugh with finger movement" , "Cause to laugh by manual means" , "Excite by touch" , "Touch tinglingly" , "Cause giggling by touching lightly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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