Crossword Genius

Friend suppressing greeting shows little bottle (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

phial

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

'friend suppressing greeting' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal is a kind of friend).
'suppressing' indicates putting letters inside.
'greeting' becomes 'hi' (hi is a kind of greeting).
'pal' enclosing 'hi' is 'PHIAL'.

'shows' is the link.

(Other definitions for phial that I've seen before include "little bottle" , "Small glass bottle for perfume or medicine" , "glass container" , "Ampoule" , "Small bottle for liquids" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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