Crossword Genius

Hell can stop the flow to the country! (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

damnation

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'hell' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'stop the flow to the country' is the wordplay.
'stop the flow' becomes 'dam' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to the country' becomes 'nation' ('nation' can be a synonym of 'country').
'dam'+'nation'='DAMNATION'

'can' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for damnation that I've seen before include "Infernal punishment" , "27 [HELL]" , "angry exclamation?" , "Eternal punishment" , "Curse" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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