Crossword Genius

Praises an old salt shaker (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exalts

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'praises' is the definition.
(exalting is a kind of praising)

'old salt shaker' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'old' could be 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime) and 'ex' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'salt' is 'alts' which is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'an' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for exalts that I've seen before include "'Glorifies, honours (6)'" , "Raises or praises" , "Praises, glorifies or honours" , "Raises up or glorifies" , "Puts on a pedestal" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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