Crossword Genius

Adult underwear picked up in the sunshine? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abask

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

'in the sunshine?' is the definition.
(abask means basking in the sunshine)

'adult underwear picked up' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'adult' could be 'a' (abbreviation) and 'a' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'bask' 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?

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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