Crossword Genius

Sermon about English losing initially in a familiar way (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

homelily

'in a familiar way' is the definition.

'sermon about english losing initially' is the wordplay.
'sermon' becomes 'homily' (homily is a kind of sermon**).
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letters of 'english losing' is 'el'.
'homily' placed around 'el' is 'HOMELILY'.

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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