Crossword Genius

Following seas, moving north, swallow becomes swift to a greater extent (6,2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

speeds up

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'swift to a greater extent' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'following seas moving north swallow' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'swallow' could be 'sup' ('sup' can be a synonym of 'swallow') and 'sup' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'speed' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'becomes' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for speeds up that I've seen before include "Accelerates" , "Gets faster" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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