Crossword Genius

Route north through Spain and Germany for hitchhiker? (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

passenger

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'hitchhiker?' is the definition.
(hitchhiker is a kind of passenger)

'route north through spain and germany' is the wordplay.
'route north through' becomes 'pass' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'spain' becomes 'e' (abbreviation for Espana).
'and' becomes 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and').
'germany' becomes 'ger' (I've seen this in other clues).
'pass'+'e'+'n'+'ger'='PASSENGER'

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for passenger that I've seen before include "Traveller in a vehicle driven by someone else" , "Fare-paying traveller" , "Dead wood" , "Traveller on bus, plane or other vehicle" , "One driven" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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