Crossword Genius

A jacket, almost on fire (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ablaze

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

'on fire' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'a jacket almost' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'blaze' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ablaze that I've seen before include "Well-lit" , "burnt" , "Fiery" , "Burning fiercely" , "filled with anger" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Daily Express.
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