Crossword Genius

Peerage expected by Cummings, perhaps stopped by king (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dukedom

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

'peerage' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'expected by cummings perhaps stopped by king' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'king' could be 'k' (chess abbreviation) and 'k' is found within the answer.
'expected' could be 'due' (similar in meaning) and 'due' is found in the remaining letters.
The remaining letters 'dom' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dukedom that I've seen before include "Duchy" , "Wellington's rank" , "Noble rank" , "Highest title of aristocracy" , "Top peerage rank" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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