Crossword Genius

Trainees boss sent first to the base (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

students

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

'trainees' is the definition.

'boss sent first to the base' is the wordplay.
'boss' becomes 'stud' (both can mean a metal decoration).
'sent first' becomes 's' (est letter of 'sent').
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'the base' becomes 'ent' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
's' put after 'ent' is 'ents'.
'stud'+'ents'='STUDENTS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for students that I've seen before include "Learners or scholars" , "Sent dust to those who learn" , "Pupils at school, university etc" , "Pupils, learners" , "Learners as at school" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.