Crossword Genius

Measure last department party setting in (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

embedding

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

'setting in' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with contact as well as being present participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'measure last department party' is the wordplay.
'measure' becomes 'em' (em is a kind of measure).
'last department party' becomes 'bedding' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'em'+'bedding'='EMBEDDING'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.