Crossword Genius

Thorn from small tree (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spine

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

'thorn' is the definition.
(I know that thorn can be written as spine)

'small tree' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'small' could be 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size) and 's' is located in the answer.
'tree' could be 'pine' (pine tree is a kind of tree) and 'pine' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'from' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for spine that I've seen before include "Line of vertebrae" , "Strength of character" , "Part of a book" , "Thorn" , "Backbone" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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