Crossword Genius

Curtailed study applied to alcoholic drink, one’s settled (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

decider

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'one's settled' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'curtailed study applied to alcoholic drink' is the wordplay.
'curtailed' means to remove the last letter.
'study' becomes 'den' (I've seen this before).
'applied to' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'alcoholic drink' becomes 'cider' (I've seen this before**).
'den' with its last letter removed is 'de'.
'de'+'cider'='DECIDER'

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(Other definitions for decider that I've seen before include "Ultimate goal" , "important game" , "vital match" , "Extra period of play to settle a draw" , "It settles the matter" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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