Crossword Genius

Catching cold almost, a northerner's back in hot wrap (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

enchilada

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

'hot wrap' is the definition.
'enchilada' can be an answer for 'wrap' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'hot' bit.

'catching cold almost a northerner's back' is the wordplay.
'catching' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'cold' becomes 'chill' (chill can mean cold).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'northerner's back' becomes 'enda' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'chill' with its last letter removed is 'chil'.
'chil'+'a'='chila'
'chila' inserted into 'enda' is 'ENCHILADA'.

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for enchilada that I've seen before include "spicy snack" , "Mexican food" , "Mexican dish" , "Filled tortilla served with chilli sauce" , "Mexican tortilla with chilli" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app