Crossword Genius

Jack gets sheep to smuggle 50 gems (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

jewels

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

'gems' is the definition.
(I know this)

'jack gets sheep to smuggle 50' is the wordplay.
'jack' becomes 'J' (playing card abbreviation).
'gets sheep' becomes 'ewes' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to smuggle' indicates putting letters inside (smuggle can mean to secretly carry).
'50' becomes 'l' (Roman numeral).
'ewes' enclosing 'l' is 'ewels'.
'j'+'ewels'='JEWELS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for jewels that I've seen before include "Diamonds, rubies, emeralds etc" , "Precious stones or metals" , "Diamonds, rubies, sapphires etc" , "Adornments of gems and precious metals" , "Precious stones and minerals" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app