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Sailor man reported a bit of gunpowder (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

saltpetre

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

'gunpowder' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both substances as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I can't see?

'sailor man reported a bit' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'salt' (salt is a kind of sailor).
'man' becomes 'p' (abbreviation for pawn, a chess piece or 'man').
'reported a bit' becomes 'etre' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'salt'+'p'+'etre'='SALTPETRE'

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for saltpetre that I've seen before include "Nitre" , "Explosive ingredient" , "Compound" , "It's used as a fertilizer and explosive" , "Potassium nitrate" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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