Crossword Genius

Crowded area considered flipping hot (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

awash

'crowded' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'area considered flipping hot' is the wordplay.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'considered' becomes 'saw' ('see' can be a synonym of 'consider').
'flipping' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'hot' becomes 'h'.
'saw' written backwards gives 'was'.
'a'+'was'+'h'='AWASH'

(Other definitions for awash that I've seen before include "With the top just covered with water" , "Letting in the sea" , "Partly under water" , "Flood" , "Letting the 21 in" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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