Crossword Genius

Rested the first day of the weekend briefly (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sat

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

'rested' is the definition.
(to sit is to rest)

'the first day of the weekend briefly' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is present in the answer.
'first' could be 'a' (first letter of the alphabet) and 'a' is found within the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sat that I've seen before include "Rested" , "Relaxed" , "Used a chair" , "Posed (for an artist)" , "Was in session" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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