Crossword Genius

Port badly affects the female there — one getting drunk (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

marseille

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

'badly affects the female there one getting drunk' is the wordplay.
'badly affects' becomes 'mars' (to mar is to damage or harm).
'the female there' becomes 'elle' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'getting drunk' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters get drunk up).
'elle' placed around 'i' is 'eille'.
'mars'+'eille'='MARSEILLE'

(Other definitions for marseille that I've seen before include "Port city of France" , "fabric" , "French port" , "French city" , "Major seaport of Southern France" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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