Crossword Genius

Honour in account of French imbibing drink (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

accolade

'honour' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'account of french imbibing drink' is the wordplay.
'account' becomes 'ac' (abbreviation for account).
'of french' becomes 'de' ('of' in French).
'imbibing' indicates putting letters inside.
'drink' becomes 'cola' (cola is a kind of drink).
'ac'+'de'='acde'
'acde' enclosing 'cola' is 'ACCOLADE'.

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for accolade that I've seen before include "Approval, acclaim" , "Public approval" , "Award, originally of knighthood" , "High praise" , "Praise, acclaim" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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