Crossword Genius

Old imperial Roman, or Egyptian, gutted after revolution (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nero

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

'old imperial roman' is the definition.
'nero' can be an answer for 'roman' (Nero was a Roman emperor). I am not certain of the 'old imperial' bit.

'or egyptian gutted after revolution' is the wordplay.
'gutted' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (to gut something is to remove its insides).
'after revolution' says the letters should be written in reverse (letters revolve back).
'egyptian' with its middle removed is 'en'.
'or'+'en'='oren'
'oren' backwards is 'NERO'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for nero that I've seen before include "Roman Emperor notorious for vice and luxury" , "Notorious Roman emperor, d. AD 68" , "Roman emperor, d. AD68" , "Fiddling Roman emperor" , "Roman Emperor, 54-68 AD" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.