Crossword Genius

And not the short European on top of the world (5,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

north pole

'top of the world' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'and not the short european' is the wordplay.
'and not' becomes 'nor' ('nor' means 'and also not').
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'european' becomes 'pole' (someone from Poland).
'the' with its final letter removed is 'th'.
'nor'+'th'+'pole'='NORTH POLE'

'on' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for north pole that I've seen before include "Arctic goal" , "Peary claimed to reach here, 1909" , "I'm on top of the world" , "Hotel porn (anag)" , "bleak situation" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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