Crossword Genius

Returning vessels very suddenly come to a halt (4,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stop dead

'suddenly come to a halt' is the definition.

'returning vessels very' is the wordplay.
'returning' is a reversal indicator.
'vessels' becomes 'pots' (pot is a kind of vessel).
'very' becomes 'dead' (I've seen this before).
'pots' in reverse letter order is 'stop'.
'stop'+'dead'='STOP DEAD'

(Other definitions for stop dead that I've seen before include "Become immobilised" , "Pull up abruptly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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