Crossword Genius

Fish gobbling fellow up in coat (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

enamel

'coat' is the definition.
(enamel is a kind of coat)

'fish gobbling fellow up' is the wordplay.
'fish' becomes 'eel' (eel is a type of fish).
'gobbling' indicates putting letters inside.
'fellow' becomes 'man' (fellow can mean a man).
'up' says the letters should be written backwards (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'man' back-to-front is 'nam'.
'eel' going around 'nam' is 'ENAMEL'.

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for enamel that I've seen before include "Glassy substance" , "Hard shiny coating on surface" , "Crown Protector?" , "Nail polish" , "Outer tooth material" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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