Crossword Genius

Prod politician to wear garland the wrong way around (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

impel

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

'prod' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'politician to wear garland the wrong way around' is the wordplay.
'politician' becomes 'MP' (Member of Parliament).
'to wear garland' becomes 'lei' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'the wrong way' is a reversal indicator.
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
'lei' back-to-front is 'iel'.
'mp' going inside 'iel' is 'IMPEL'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for impel that I've seen before include "Hold together" , "Urge or drive to do something" , "Urge forward, drive" , "Motivate" , "Make" .)

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