Expanse of sand and desert a bonus for sailors? (5,5)
I believe the answer is:
shore leave
'a bonus for sailors?' is the definition.
'expanse of sand and desert' is the wordplay.
'expanse of sand' becomes 'shore'.
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'desert' becomes 'leave' (I've seen this before).
'shore'+'leave'='SHORE-LEAVE'
(Other definitions for shore leave that I've seen before include "Time off for sailors in port" , "rest of the crew" .)