I’m quietly after small personnel; one this size? (6)
I believe the answer is:
shrimp
'one this size?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how they can define each other.
'i'm quietly after small personnel' is the wordplay.
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'personnel' becomes 'HR' (Human Resources).
'im'+'p'='imp'
's'+'hr'='shr'
'imp' put after 'shr' is 'SHRIMP'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for shrimp that I've seen before include "Diminutive person" , "little fellow" , "Tot" , "no giant" , "tiny chap" .)