Analyse and chop up explosive (7)
I believe the answer is:
examine
'analyse' is the definition.
(I know that analyse can be written as examine)
'chop up explosive' is the wordplay.
'chop' becomes 'axe' (axing is a kind of chopping).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'explosive' becomes 'mine' (e.g. a landmine).
'axe' written backwards gives 'exa'.
'exa'+'mine'='EXAMINE'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for examine that I've seen before include "Subject to scrutiny" , "Question closely" , "Analyse" , "Subject to inspection" , "Scrutinise, subject to test" .)