Crossword Genius

Having experienced a close shave, tie felt different going in front (11)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

battlefield

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'having experienced a close shave' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'tie felt different going in front' is the wordplay.
'different' indicates anagramming the letters (letters placed in a different order).
'going in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'front' becomes 'bald' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'tie'+'felt'='tiefelt'
'tiefelt' is an anagram of 'ttlefie'.
'ttlefie' going into 'bald' is 'BATTLEFIELD'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for battlefield that I've seen before include "situation demanding firepower" , "arena" , "Scene of conflict" , "Place of conflict" , "Scene of military action" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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