Gold character left uncovered (2,7)
I believe the answer is:
au naturel
'uncovered' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'gold character left' is the wordplay.
'gold' becomes 'Au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold).
'character' becomes 'nature' (I've seen this before).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'au'+'nature'+'l'='AU NATUREL'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for au naturel that I've seen before include "Undressed (French)" , "In the nude - in France" , "Plain" , "Naked in French, to aural tune" , "Cooked plainly - naked" .)