Crossword Genius

A bad actor put up with Iran's new queen (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

maharani

'queen' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'a bad actor put up with iran's new' is the wordplay.
'bad actor' becomes 'ham' (a ham is someone who overacts).
'put up' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'new' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'ham'='aham'
'aham' written backwards gives 'maha'.
'iran' with letters rearranged gives 'rani'.
'maha'+'rani'='MAHARANI'

(Other definitions for maharani that I've seen before include "Indian ruler's wife" , "Indian princess" , "Indian widow" , "Wife of a maharaja" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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