Thinker’s uncommon zest during recess (9)
I believe the answer is:
nietzsche
'thinker's' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'uncommon zest during recess' is the wordplay.
'uncommon' indicates an anagram.
'during' indicates putting letters inside.
'recess' becomes 'niche' (synonyms).
'zest' with letters rearranged gives 'etzs'.
'etzs' inserted within 'niche' is 'NIETZSCHE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nietzsche that I've seen before include "Friedrich -, nineteenth century German philosopher" , "German philosopher, wrote Beyond Good and Evil" , "German poet" , "Influential German existentialist philosopher" , "German philosopher, d. 1900, noted for his concept of superman" .)