Crossword Genius

Doctor's Scotsman becoming first scientist (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

physicist

'scientist' is the definition.
(I know that physicist is a type of scientist)

'doctor's scotsman becoming first' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'first' could be 'ist' (ist resembles 1st) and 'ist' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'physic' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

(Other definitions for physicist that I've seen before include "To become a scientist, doctor gets a name change to the street" , "Expert in the science of matter and energy" , "One studying the nature of matter" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.