Crossword Genius

American uncle criticises boats in the Far East (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sampans

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

'boats in the far east' is the definition.
'sampans' can be an answer for 'boats' (sampan is a kind of boat). I am not sure about the 'in the far east' bit.

'american uncle criticises' is the wordplay.
'american uncle' becomes 'Sam' (Uncle Sam is a nickname for the USA).
'criticises' becomes 'pans' (pan can mean to criticise severely).
'sam'+'pans'='SAMPANS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for sampans that I've seen is " Chinese skiffs".)

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