Crossword Genius

Tough revolutionary wisely evacuated (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chewy

'tough' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'revolutionary wisely evacuated' is the wordplay.
'revolutionary' becomes 'Che' (Che Guevara).
'evacuated' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (internal letters are evacuated from the word).
'wisely' with its centre removed is 'wy'.
'che'+'wy'='CHEWY'

(Other definitions for chewy that I've seen before include "Taking much mastication" , "Soft and sticky (to eat)" , "Hard to eat" , "Tough to masticate" , "Requiring mastication, like toffee say" .)

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