Bright and shiny chap in elite force not taking sides (9)

I believe the answer is:

argentine

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

'bright' is the definition.
(I know that argentine is a more specific form of the attribute bright)

'shiny chap in elite force not taking sides' is the wordplay.
'shiny chap' becomes 'gent' (both can mean a man. I am not sure about the 'shiny' bit.).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'elite force' becomes 'Marines' (elite military force).
'not taking sides' means to look at the middle letters (letters at the side are removed).
The centre of 'marines' is 'arine'.
'gent' placed into 'arine' is 'ARGENTINE'.

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for argentine that I've seen before include "National" , "from South America" , "South American" , "El Papa is one" , "Strange tangerine from S. American country" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.