Crossword Genius

Star hit hard — browned off (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

suntanned

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'browned off' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'star hit hard' is the wordplay.
'star' becomes 'sun' (the Sun is a star).
'hit hard' becomes 'tanned' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'sun'+'tanned'='SUNTANNED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for suntanned that I've seen before include "affected by prolonged exposure" , "With bronzed skin" , "Browning?" , "Browned off" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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