Crossword Genius

Beast from the east -- and there without her to provide cover (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

laminate

'cover' is the definition.
(laminating is a kind of covering)

'beast from the east and there without her' is the wordplay.
'beast' becomes 'animal' ('animal' can be a synonym of 'beast'**).
'from the east' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'without' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'animal' reversed gives 'lamina'.
'there' with 'her' taken away is 'te'.
'lamina'+'te'='LAMINATE'

'to provide' is the link.

(Other definitions for laminate that I've seen before include "Thinly cover" , "Anti-male (anag.)" , "Manufacture by layering" , "Sheet of material made by bonding two or more sheets" , "Material made from layers" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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