Crossword Genius

Article captain holds on sailing ship (5-6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

three-master

'sailing ship' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'article captain holds on' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'the' (the definite article in English).
'captain' becomes 'master' (synonyms).
'holds' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'on' becomes 're' (regarding).
'the'+'master'='themaster'
'themaster' placed around 're' is 'THREE-MASTER'.

(Another definition for three-master that I've seen is " Sailing ship".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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