Crossword Genius

Meeting two holding hands at bar (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

encounter

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'meeting' is the definition.
(I know that meeting can be written as encounter)

'two holding hands at bar' is the wordplay.
'two holding hands at' becomes 'en' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'bar' becomes 'counter' (as in the counter of a pub or bar).
'en'+'counter'='ENCOUNTER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for encounter that I've seen before include "Struggle" , "Unexpected meeting" , "Bump into" , "Meet; confrontation" , "Face" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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