Crossword Genius

Second grade in a trial, ideally (2,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

at best

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'ideally' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'second grade in a trial' is the wordplay.
'second grade' becomes 'b' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'trial' becomes 'test' (synonyms).
'a'+'test'='atest'
'b' placed within 'atest' is 'AT BEST'.

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(Other definitions for at best that I've seen before include "In the optimal situation" , "Making every allowance" , "In the most favourable outcome" , "Assuming the most favourable conditions" , "In the most optimistic situation" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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