Crossword Genius

Were your old orators meritorious? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

worthy

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'meritorious?' is the definition.
('worthy' can be similar in meaning to 'meritorious')

'were your old orators' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'your' could be 'thy' ('thy' historically meant 'your') and 'thy' is found within the answer.
'old' could be 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English) and 'o' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for worthy that I've seen before include "Meriting respect or esteem" , "Good enough" , "VIP" , "esteemed dignitary" , "Deserving, meritorious" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app