Crossword Genius

Mate in panic: moon exploding (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

companion

'mate' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'panic moon exploding' is the wordplay.
'exploding' is an anagram indicator.
'panic'+'moon'='panicmoon'
'panicmoon' is an anagram of 'COMPANION'.

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for companion that I've seen before include "Mate (maybe of honour!)" , "Intimate" , "Person who lives or travels with you" , "Frequent associate" , "person with whom one is travelling?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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