Crossword Genius

Homeless vagrant hugs extremely nonplussed northern composer (11)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mendelssohn

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

'composer' is the definition.
(I have seen 'German composer' mean 'mendelssohn' so perhaps 'composer' could also mean 'mendelssohn')

'homeless vagrant hugs extremely nonplussed northern' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'extremely' could be 'so' ('so' can mean 'extremely' or 'very') and 'so' is present in the answer.
'northern' could be 'n' (abbreviation e.g. N. Ireland) and 'n' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for mendelssohn that I've seen before include "German composer of The Hebrides, d. 1847" , "Composer of Fingal's Cave overture, d. 1847" , "Wedding March composer" , "German romantic composer of orchestral and choral works, d. 1847" , "German composer, Felix, d. 1847" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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