Crossword Genius

Membranes (a thousand) in a mess (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

amnia

'membranes' is the definition.

'a thousand in a mess' is the wordplay.
'thousand' becomes 'm' ('m' can be a synonym of 'thousand'**).
'mess' indicates an anagram.
'in'+'a'='ina'
'ina' with letters rearranged gives 'nia'.
'a'+'m'+'nia'='AMNIA'

(Another definition for amnia that I've seen is " First bodyguards".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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