Crossword Genius

Small tree father brought back, inspired by member’s support (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sapling

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

'small tree' is the definition.
'sapling' can be an answer for 'tree' (I have seen 'Young tree' mean 'sapling' so perhaps 'tree' could also mean 'sapling'). I'm unsure of the 'small' bit.

'father brought back inspired by member's support' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'brought back' is a reversal indicator.
'inspired by' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters breathed in or 'inspired' by others).
'member's support' becomes 'sling' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'pa' back-to-front is 'ap'.
'ap' placed inside 'sling' is 'SAPLING'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sapling that I've seen before include "Lapsing into a young tree" , "Little tree" , "Baby tree" , "Poetic youth" , "Young slender tree" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.