Crossword Genius

Like Sprite? A German drinks litres loudly (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

elfin

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

'like sprite?' is the definition.
'elfin' can be an answer for 'sprite?' (I have seen 'Mischievous sprite' mean 'elfin' so perhaps 'sprite' could also mean 'elfin'). I'm unsure of the 'like' bit.

'a german drinks litres loudly' is the wordplay.
'a german' becomes 'ein' ('a' in German).
'drinks' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are consumed or drunk).
'litres' becomes 'l' (abbreviation for litres).
'loudly' becomes 'f' (short for forte - 'loud' in music).
'l'+'f'='lf'
'ein' enclosing 'lf' is 'ELFIN'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for elfin that I've seen before include "Like a tiny fairy" , "Small, with delicate frame" , "Mischievous sprite" , "Sweet" , "Sprightly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.