Crossword Genius

Stop being a TV viewer's plaything (4-2-3-3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

jack-in-the-box

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

'plaything' is the definition.
(jack-in-the-box is a kind of plaything)

'stop being a tv viewer's' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'tv' could be 'thebox' (I've seen this before) and 'thebox' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for jack-in-the-box that I've seen before include "Toy with pop-up figure" , "One might spring a surprise!" , "Sprung toy" , "Surprising children's toy" , "Toy that springs up" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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