Crossword Genius

Cloth from China and money from Saudi Arabia? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

material

'cloth' is the definition.
(I know that cloth can be written as material)

'china and money from saudi arabia?' is the wordplay.
'china' becomes 'mate' (china plate is Cockney rhyming slang for mate).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'money from saudi arabia?' becomes 'Rial' (monetary unit of Saudi Arabia).
'mate'+'rial'='MATERIAL'

'from' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for material that I've seen before include "of serious importance" , "Matter; fabric" , "it is of some significance" , "Directly relevant to a matter, in a law case perhaps" , "Cloth, fabric" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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