Crossword Genius

Man showing sign of age, perhaps hides key, turning white (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

albescent

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

'turning white' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'man showing sign of age perhaps hides key' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'man' could be 'al' (man's name) and 'al' is located in the answer.
'key' could be 'esc' ('Escape' key on a computer keyboard) and 'esc' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'bent' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for albescent that I've seen before include "turning white" , "fading to white" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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