Crossword Genius

Deputy ruler of men out East (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

viceroy

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'east' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how they can define each other.

'deputy ruler of men' is the wordplay.
'deputy' becomes 'vice' (as in vice-president).
'ruler of men' becomes 'roy' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'vice'+'roy'='VICEROY'

'out' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for viceroy that I've seen before include "sovereign's governor" , "Ruler of a colony" , "Monarch's plenipotentiary - American butterfly, like (but smaller than) a monarch" , "Governor ruling in name of sovereign" , "One ruling in a colony" .)

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