Crossword Genius

Proverbially hungry, could he eat a horse? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hunter

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

'a horse?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'proverbially hungry could he eat' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'he' could be 'hunt' and 'hunt' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'er' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hunter that I've seen before include "one chasing the game?" , "One chasing - type of watch" , "One after quarry" , "See 10" , "One pursuing - type of watch" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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