Crossword Genius

Smart, bagging the royal pearls! (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

string

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

'smart bagging the royal pearls' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'smart bagging the royal' is the wordplay.
'smart' becomes 'sting' (both can mean to burn or hurt).
'bagging' means one lot of letters goes inside another (I've seen this in other clues).
'the royal' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'sting' placed around 'r' is 'STRING'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for string that I've seen before include "Cord, twine" , "Collective noun for racehorses trained together" , "tier" , "Thin length of cord etc" , "Something for tying up" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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