Crossword Genius

Watch government bringing in muscle (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spectate

'watch' is the definition.
(spectating is a kind of watching)

'government bringing in muscle' is the wordplay.
'government' becomes 'state' (state is a kind of government).
'bringing in' indicates putting letters inside.
'muscle' becomes 'pec' (I've seen this in other clues).
'state' placed around 'pec' is 'SPECTATE'.

(Other definitions for spectate that I've seen before include "Be a viewer, at a sports event perhaps" , "View" , "Be an onlooker" , "Watch (eg, a game)" , "Look on (at a match)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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