Crossword Genius

Passed by holidaymaker’s island going into East Germany (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

excreted

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

'passed' is the definition.
('excrete' can be a synonym of 'pass')

'by holidaymaker's island going into east germany' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'by' could be 'x' (multiplication sign) and 'x' is located in the answer.
'island' could be 'crete' (Crete is an example) and 'crete' is located in the answer.
'east' could be 'e' ('E' can be a synonym of 'east') and 'e' is present in the answer.
'germany' could be 'd' (international vehicle registration code) and 'd' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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