Crossword Genius

Copper, say, encountered a trainee (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

metal

'copper say' is the definition.
(I know that Cu is a type of metal)

'encountered a trainee' is the wordplay.
'encountered' becomes 'met' ('meet' can be a synonym of 'encounter').
'trainee' becomes 'l' (as in an L-plate for a learner driver).
'met'+'a'+'l'='METAL'

(Other definitions for metal that I've seen before include "Iron, for instance" , "Gold or silver in heraldry" , "Tungsten, for example" , "Broken stones" , "Maybe lead" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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