Crossword Genius

Old bird meets an inexperienced driver outside (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

external

'outside' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'old bird meets an inexperienced driver' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'bird' becomes 'tern' (tern is a kind of bird).
'meets' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'an' becomes 'a'.
'inexperienced driver' becomes 'l' (as in L-plates for learner drivers).
'ex'+'tern'+'a'+'l'='EXTERNAL'

(Other definitions for external that I've seen before include "Belonging to the outside" , "Coming from outside" , "abroad" , "Relating to the outside" , "Surface" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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