A German among five bridge players showing enthusiasm (9)
I believe the answer is:
eagerness
'enthusiasm' is the definition.
(I know that eagerness is a type of enthusiasm)
'a german among five bridge players' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'german' could be 'ger' (abbreviation) and 'ger' is located in the answer.
'bridge players' could be 'en' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'en' is found in the leftover letters.
The remaining letters 'ess' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'showing' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for eagerness that I've seen before include "Keenness, enthusiasm" , "Avidity" , "Sense rage (anag.)" , "Keen attitude" , "Keen interest" .)