Crossword Genius

Girls excited by European youngster (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grilse

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

'youngster' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'girls excited by european' is the wordplay.
'excited' is an anagram indicator.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'european' becomes 'E' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'girls' is an anagram of 'grils'.
'grils'+'e'='GRILSE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for grilse that I've seen before include "Young salmon (6)" , "A one-year old salmon" , "Young swimmer" , "Salmon on first return to fresh water" , "Young salmon returning from sea to spawn" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app