Cryptic crossword clue
Contaminated with rodent, dodgy US meat festers 9

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MATURATES

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
M
A
T
U
R
A
T
E
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "festers" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case festers = maturates.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does MATURATES mean?

MATURATES verb
  1. To bring to ripeness or maturity; to ripen.
  2. To promote the perfect suppuration of (an abscess).
  3. To undergo perfect suppuration.

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