Crossword Genius

See inside Curie's second home (4-1-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pied-a-terre

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

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

'see inside curie's' is the wordplay.
'see' becomes 'date' (synonyms).
'inside' is an insertion indicator.
'curie's' becomes 'pierre' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'date' put into 'pierre' is 'PIED-A-TERRE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pied-a-terre that I've seen before include "Dwelling for occasional use" , "Small secondary flat or house" , "bijou accommodation" , "Small home kept for occasional use" , "Lodging kept for occasional use (French)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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