Crossword Genius

Met conditions in the war out East, possibly (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

weather

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'met conditions' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, adjectives and past participle verbs occasionally define each other.

'in the war out east possibly' is the wordplay.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'out' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'east possibly' becomes 'e' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'the' going into 'war' is 'wather'.
'wather' placed around 'e' is 'WEATHER'.

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(Other definitions for weather that I've seen before include "Climate" , "Come safely through; erode" , "Local atmospheric conditions" , "Conditions outside; survive (crisis)" , "Survive (ordeal); be worn away naturally" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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