Crossword Genius

Developing the smell of sodium (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nascent

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

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

'smell of sodium' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'smell' could be 'scent' (scenting is a kind of smelling) and 'scent' is found in the answer.
'sodium' could be 'na' (chemical symbol) and 'na' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for nascent that I've seen before include "Being born - scan net (anag)" , "Coming alive" , "Freshly generated" , "Promising potential" , "Dawning" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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