Crossword Genius

Old Sulawesi star eats crusts (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

celebes

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

'old sulawesi' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'star eats crusts' is the wordplay.
'star' becomes 'celeb' (I've seen this in another clue).
'eats crusts' becomes 'es' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'celeb'+'es'='CELEBES'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for celebes that I've seen before include "English name for Sulawesi" , "Pacific island" , "Anglicised spelling of Sulawesi (Indonesia)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app