Crossword Genius

Quill from magpie’s tail held by old man (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

feather

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

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

'magpie's tail held by old man' is the wordplay.
'magpie's tail' becomes 'e' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'held by' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'old man' becomes 'father' (I've seen this before).
'e' going within 'father' is 'FEATHER'.

'from' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for feather that I've seen before include "One of a bird's waterproof covering" , "Rotate (propeller) blades (to reduce thrust)" , "thing of little importance" , "Quill" , "dance step" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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