Crossword Genius

Watch out, monarch gets a beating (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

thwacking

'a beating' is the definition.

'watch out monarch' is the wordplay.
'out' is an anagram indicator (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'monarch' becomes 'king' (king is a kind of monarch).
'watch' anagrammed gives 'thwac'.
'thwac'+'king'='THWACKING'

'gets' is the link.

(Other definitions for thwacking that I've seen before include "producing a loud hit" , "striking" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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