Crossword Genius

Reddish-brown and black vase having gold top (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

auburn

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'reddish-brown' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'black vase having gold top' is the wordplay.
'black' becomes 'ab' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'vase' becomes 'urn' (urn is a kind of vase).
'having' indicates putting letters inside.
'gold' becomes 'au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold).
'top' means to remove the first letter.
'ab'+'urn'='aburn'
'au' with its initial letter taken off is 'u'.
'aburn' enclosing 'u' is 'AUBURN'.

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for auburn that I've seen before include "Reddish-brown, hair say" , "Shade of brown" , "Shade of hair" , "Of hair colour, reddish brown (6)" , "Red-brown hair colouring" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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