A bunch of retired coppers ordered penne in European resort (9)
I believe the answer is:
ninepence
'a bunch of retired coppers' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'ordered penne in european resort' is the wordplay.
'ordered' indicates an anagram.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'european resort' becomes 'Nice' (French coastal resort).
'penne' is an anagram of 'nepen'.
'nepen' inserted within 'nice' is 'NINEPENCE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ninepence that I've seen before include "Using old money, had one over the eight" , "amount of old money" , "Three-quarters of a shilling" , "in a right old state" .)
