Crossword Genius

Sea excellent back where Polynesia lies (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

oceania

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'where polynesia lies' is the definition.
The answer is a location as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'sea excellent back' is the wordplay.
'sea' becomes 'ocean' (synonyms).
'excellent' becomes 'ai' (resembles 'Ao', old-fashioned term for excellent).
'back' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'ai' backwards is 'ia'.
'ocean'+'ia'='OCEANIA'

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(Other definitions for oceania that I've seen before include "The Pacific islands taken together" , "Pacific Ocean area" , "Pacific group" , "part of the world" , "Large South Pacific region" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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