I’m surprised — small figure’s brought in by top earner (5-7)
I believe the answer is:
money-spinner
'top earner' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'i'm surprised small figure's brought in' is the wordplay.
'i'm surprised' becomes 'my' ('my' is an expression of surprise).
'small' becomes 'spinner' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'figure' becomes 'one' (a numerical figure).
'brought in' indicates putting letters inside.
'my'+'spinner'='myspinner'
'myspinner' enclosing 'one' is 'MONEY-SPINNER'.
'by' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for money-spinner that I've seen before include "Lucrative activity" , "Highly profitable enterprise" , "Profitable thing" , "Lucrative enterprise" , "Financially successful scheme" .)