Crossword Genius

Stick securing old, hollowed out puppet (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

poodle

'puppet' is the definition.
(poodle can mean a person willing to obey another)

'stick securing old hollowed out' is the wordplay.
'stick' becomes 'pole'.
'securing' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'hollowed out' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'old' with its middle taken out is 'od'.
'pole' enclosing 'od' is 'POODLE'.

(Other definitions for poodle that I've seen before include "Curly-coated dog" , "Lapdog" , "Curly-haired breed of dog" , "National dog of France?" , "Dog with curly coat, often clipped" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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