Crossword Genius

Civilised umpire popular with England sides (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

refined

'civilised' is the definition.
(associated in meaning)

'umpire popular with england sides' is the wordplay.
'umpire' becomes 'ref' (short for referee).
'popular' becomes 'in' ('in' can mean trendy).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'sides' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (only the letters on the sides are used).
'england' with its centre taken out is 'ed'.
'ref'+'in'+'ed'='REFINED'

(Other definitions for refined that I've seen before include "Not coarse" , "Free from vulgarity" , "Polished" , "With impurities removed" , "Discerning" .)

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