Crossword Genius

When protecting female face insults (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

affronts

'insults' is the definition.
('affront' can be a synonym of 'insult')

'when protecting female face' is the wordplay.
'when' becomes 'as'.
'protecting' is an insertion indicator.
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'face' becomes 'front' (front is a kind of face**).
'f'+'front'='ffront'
'as' placed around 'ffront' is 'AFFRONTS'.

(Other definitions for affronts that I've seen before include "Insults, shows of disrespect" , "insults or embarrassments" , "Public insults" , "Deliberate insults" , "Snubs" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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