Crossword Genius

Dawn French initially confused this girl with bit of teasing (5,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

first light

'dawn' is the definition.
('first light' can be a synonym of 'dawn')

'french initially confused this girl with bit of teasing' is the wordplay.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'confused' indicates anagramming the letters.
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'bit of' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'french' is 'f'.
The initial letter of 'teasing' is 't'.
'this'+'girl'='thisgirl'
'thisgirl' anagrammed gives 'irstligh'.
'f'+'irstligh'+'t'='FIRST LIGHT'

(Other definitions for first light that I've seen before include "early in the day" , "start of day" , "Instructions for enjoying cigarette" , "Glimmering" , "time for dawn chorus" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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.