Crossword Genius

California very hot - lake evaporating and going down fast (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cascading

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

'going down fast' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are present participle verbs, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

'california very hot lake evaporating' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'california' could be 'ca' (abbreviation) and 'ca' is present in the answer.
'hot' could be 'in' (both can mean fashionable) and 'in' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'and' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for cascading that I've seen is " pouring down!".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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