Crossword Genius

Mendicant king with fine clothing (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fakir

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

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

'king with fine clothing' is the wordplay.
'king' becomes 'K' (abbreviation for king in chess).
'with fine' becomes 'fair' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'with' bit.).
'clothing' is an insertion indicator (some letters cover up or clothe others).
'k' going inside 'fair' is 'FAKIR'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for fakir that I've seen before include "Indian religious ascetic" , "Holy man of the East" , "Muslim mendicant monk and holy man" , "Eastern holy man" , "Ascetic type" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app