In a small way, foreign presence becomes conspicuous (7)

I believe the answer is:

salient

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

'conspicuous' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'in a small way foreign' is the wordplay.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'a small way' becomes 'st' (I am not sure about the 'small' bit.).
'foreign' becomes 'alien' (synonyms).
'st' going around 'alien' is 'SALIENT'.

'presence becomes' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for salient that I've seen before include "Foremost" , "Entails (anag) - most important" , "Leaping (heraldry)" , "defence work" , "Outstanding - it's lean (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.