Head of union avoiding hint about excellent nurse (6)
I believe the answer is:
cradle
'nurse' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'head of union avoiding hint about excellent' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'about' could be 'c' (abbreviation for circa) and 'c' is found within the answer.
'excellent' could be 'rad' (slang term) and 'rad' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cradle that I've seen before include "Hold gently and protectively" , "early bed" , "Bassinet" , "Small bed on rockers" , "Supporting framework" .)