Crossword Genius

Son, breaking pieces, taps good egg (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mensch

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'good egg' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'son breaking pieces taps' is the wordplay.
'son' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation for son).
'breaking' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'pieces' becomes 'men' (man can mean a chess piece).
'taps' becomes 'ch' (cold and hot taps).
'men'+'ch'='mench'
's' placed into 'mench' is 'MENSCH'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for mensch that I've seen before include "Decent guy" , "Decent chap" , "Brick, US-style" , "Decent person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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