Crossword Genius

Grandmother piercing strong fabric (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nankeen

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

'strong fabric' is the definition.
'nankeen' can be an answer for 'fabric' (nankeen is a kind of fabric). I am not sure about the 'strong' bit.

'grandmother piercing' is the wordplay.
'grandmother' becomes 'nan' (nan can informally mean a grandmother).
'piercing' becomes 'keen' (synonyms).
'nan'+'keen'='NANKEEN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for nankeen that I've seen before include "Buff-coloured cotton cloth" , "Chinese cotton cloth" , "hard-wearing stuff" , "trouser material" , "Yellowish stuff" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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