Crossword Genius

Cabin trunk, perhaps, taken round ship by English men? (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chess set

'men?' is the definition.
(men can mean chess pieces)

'cabin trunk perhaps taken round ship by english' is the wordplay.
'cabin trunk perhaps' becomes 'chest' (trunk that might be found in a cabin).
'taken round' is an insertion indicator.
'ship' becomes 'SS' (prefix in ship names eg SS Great Britain).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'ss'+'e'='sse'
'chest' going around 'sse' is 'CHESS SET'.

(Other definitions for chess set that I've seen before include "men, along with the board" , "It's played on a chequered board with 32 pieces" , "It's played with kings, queens and bishops" , "King, pawns etc." , "Game with kings, queens and bishops" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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