Crossword Genius

Table item, last of lousy dry alcohol I swallowed (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

yttrium

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

'last of lousy dry alcohol i swallowed' is the wordplay.
'last of' suggests the final letters.
'dry' becomes 'tt' (abbreviation for teetotal).
'alcohol' becomes 'rum' (rum is a kind of alcohol).
'swallowed' indicates putting letters inside.
The final letter of 'lousy' is 'y'.
'rum' going around 'i' is 'rium'.
'y'+'tt'+'rium'='YTTRIUM'

(Other definitions for yttrium that I've seen before include "Metallic element, symbol Y" , "Chemical element; um, try it (anag.)" , "Table item" , "Silvery metallic element" , "Rare earth element" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app