Crossword Genius

Lighter finished as fluid escaped (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spillover

'fluid escaped' is the definition.
(fluid that has spilled over)

'lighter finished' is the wordplay.
'lighter' becomes 'spill' (strip of wood for lighting a candle).
'finished' becomes 'over' (over can mean finished or ended).
'spill'+'over'='SPILLOVER'

'as' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for spillover that I've seen before include "unexpected consequence" , "could be too much to cope with" , "excess that's spread around" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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