Crossword Genius

Torn bags date, revealing chemical substance (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

reagent

'chemical substance' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'torn bags date' is the wordplay.
'torn' becomes 'rent' (rending is a kind of tearing).
'bags' means one lot of letters goes inside another (bag can mean secures or steals).
'date' becomes 'age'.
'rent' enclosing 'age' is 'REAGENT'.

'revealing' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for reagent that I've seen before include "Substance used in chemical analysis" , "will cause some reaction" , "Chemically active substance" , "Reacting substance" , "Get near (anag) - substance used in chemistry" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.