Crossword Genius

Letters between mum and dad in Central America (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

panama

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

'in central america' is the definition.
('Panama' is part of 'central america')

'letters between mum and dad' is the wordplay.
'letters between' becomes 'na' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'mum' becomes 'ma' (ma can mean mother).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'dad' becomes 'pa' (both can mean one's father).
'na'+'ma'='nama'
'nama' after 'pa' is 'PANAMA'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for panama that I've seen before include "What may be seen overhead" , "isthmus" , "'Country, canal and hat (6)'" , "American canal or kind of hat" , "Headgear for a canal" .)

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