Crossword Genius

Islands where male meets females at matches (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hebrides

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'islands' is the definition.
(Scottish islands)

'male meets females at matches' is the wordplay.
'male meets females' becomes 'he' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'at' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'matches' becomes 'brides' (bride is a kind of match).
'he'+'brides'='HEBRIDES'

'where' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hebrides that I've seen before include "Isles?" , "Muck out here" , "Shipping Forecast area" , "His breed comes from west of Scotland" , "Debris he found in islands off NW Scotland" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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