Crossword Genius

Spoil fake allotment, though nothing's nicked? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

coddle

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

'spoil' is the definition.
(I know that spoil can be written as coddle)

'fake allotment though nothing's nicked?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'fake' could be 'cod' (cod can mean false or inauthentic) and 'cod' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for coddle that I've seen before include "Cosset - pamper" , "Pamper, over-indulge" , "baby" , "Pamper -- cook in nearly boiling water" , "Cook in nearly-boiling water" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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