Crossword Genius

A mix of endless games at last for the French mother back there. (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

amalgam

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

'a mix' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'the french mother back there' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'la' ('the' in French).
'mother' becomes 'ma' (Ma is another word for mother or mum).
'back' is a reversal indicator.
'there' becomes 'gam' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'la'+'ma'='lama'
'lama' backwards is 'amal'.
'amal'+'gam'='AMALGAM'

'of endless games at last for' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for amalgam that I've seen before include "Mixture (for dental fillings)" , "Blend of diverse things" , "Mercury alloy - combination" , "Combination of diverse elements" , "mercurial combination" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app