Crossword Genius

Small group welcoming learner, naturally bright (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sunlit

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

'naturally bright' is the definition.
'sunlit' can be an answer for 'bright' ('sunlit' can be similar in meaning to 'bright'). I am not sure about the 'naturally' bit.

'small group welcoming learner' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'group' becomes 'unit' (unit is a kind of group**).
'welcoming' means one lot of letters goes inside another (in sense of 'inviting in').
'learner' becomes 'l'.
'unit' placed around 'l' is 'unlit'.
's'+'unlit'='SUNLIT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sunlit that I've seen before include "Hit by solar rays" , "Illuminated from 93,000,000 miles away" , "Bathed in natural light" , "Bright with solar illumination" , "Not so at night" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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