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Copper on trial is most shrewd (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cutest

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'most shrewd' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are superlative adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'copper on trial' is the wordplay.
'copper' becomes 'Cu' (chemical symbol).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'trial' becomes 'test' (synonyms).
'cu'+'test'='CUTEST'

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cutest that I've seen before include "Most clever" , "Most quaint and attractive" , "Most astute" , "Most sweet and endearing" , "Smartest" .)

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