Crossword Genius

See in lodge retired contestant (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rival

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'contestant' is the definition.
(rival is a kind of contestant)

'see in lodge retired' is the wordplay.
'see' becomes 'v' (Latin 'vide', used to direct a reader to a source).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'lodge' becomes 'lair' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'retired' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'v' going inside 'lair' is 'lavir'.
'lavir' in reverse letter order is 'RIVAL'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rival that I've seen before include "Competing opponent" , "Person in direct competition" , "Contender" , "Adversary, antagonist" , "Competitor; be as good as" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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