Crossword Genius

Blows up home even less evenly (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

inflates

'blows up' is the definition.
('inflate' can be a synonym of 'blow up')

'home even less evenly' is the wordplay.
'home' becomes 'in' ('he's home' can mean 'he's in').
'even' becomes 'flat' ('flat' can be similar in meaning to 'even'**).
'evenly' means one should take alternating letters (even-numbered letters only).
The alternating letters of 'less' are 'es'.
'in'+'flat'+'es'='INFLATES'

(Other definitions for inflates that I've seen before include "Exaggerates" , "Blows up" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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