Crossword Genius

Nibble around sides of kale that's mistaken for plastic (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bakelite

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

'for plastic' is the definition.
(Bakelite is an example)

'nibble around sides of kale that's mistaken' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
an anagram of 'kale' is 'akel' which is present in the answer.
'nibble' could be 'bite' (I've seen this before) and 'bite' is located in the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bakelite that I've seen before include "Early form of plastic used for tableware, telephones etc" , "Type of hard plastic, in old telephones say" , "'Type of hard plastic, used in old telephones (8)'" .)

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