Crossword Genius

Son breaking excellent record around the country (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

estonia

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

'son breaking excellent record around' is the wordplay.
'son' becomes 's'.
'breaking' indicates putting letters inside.
'excellent' becomes 'ai'.
'record' becomes 'note' (note is a kind of record**).
'around' says the letters should be written backwards.
'ai'+'note'='ainote'
's' placed within 'ainote' is 'ainotse'.
'ainotse' backwards is 'ESTONIA'.

(Other definitions for estonia that I've seen before include "Country due S. of Finland" , "Republic in northeastern Europe" , "Republic in the Baltic region, once part of USSR" , "Land" , "European country, capital Tallinn" .)

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