Crossword Genius

Wet area spoils start of holiday (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

marsh

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

'wet area' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.

'spoils start of holiday' is the wordplay.
'spoils' becomes 'mars' ('mar' can be a synonym of 'spoil').
'start of' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'holiday' is 'h'.
'mars'+'h'='MARSH'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for marsh that I've seen before include "Swampy ground" , "Quagmire" , "eg Romney" , "Bog, swamp" , "Wetland" .)

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.