Crossword Genius

Squirm awkwardly around a nobleman (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

marquis

'nobleman' is the definition.
(marquis is a kind of nobleman)

'squirm awkwardly around a' is the wordplay.
'awkwardly' indicates anagramming the letters.
'around' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'squirm' is an anagram of 'mrquis'.
'mrquis' placed around 'a' is 'MARQUIS'.

(Other definitions for marquis that I've seen before include "toff" , "Continental aristocrat" , "Noble, above count" , "De Sade's noble rank" , "Foreign nobleman ranking above a count" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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