Crossword Genius

Mature beef no good with side of nuggets (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ripen

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

'mature beef no' is the definition.
'ripen' can be an answer for 'mature' (to ripen is to mature). I'm unsure of the 'beef no' bit.

'good with side of nuggets' is the wordplay.
'good' becomes 'ripe' (synonyms).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'side of' says to take the initial letters (the letter from one side of the word).
The first letter of 'nuggets' is 'n'.
'ripe'+'n'='RIPEN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ripen that I've seen before include "Become ready for harvesting" , "Get ready to eat" , "Mature, age" , "Get ready to open" , "Become ready for eating" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times and The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.