Crossword Genius

Awfully nice pal, or “china” (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

porcelain

'china' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'awfully nice pal or' is the wordplay.
'awfully' is an anagram indicator.
'nice'+'pal'+'or'='nicepalor'
'nicepalor' anagrammed gives 'PORCELAIN'.

(Other definitions for porcelain that I've seen before include "Fine white China" , "Fine ceramic ware" , "Fine white ceramic" , "Jasper, perhaps" , "fragile goods" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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