Crossword Genius

Bright red stuff beginning to cover area in pubs (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cinnabar

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

'bright red' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'stuff beginning to cover area in pubs' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'area' could be 'bar' (bar is a kind of area) and 'bar' is present in the answer.
'in' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cinnabar that I've seen before include "Brian can make vermilion pigment" , "Heavy red mineral containing mercury" , "Bright red mineral containing mercury" , "Red mercury sulphide" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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