Crossword Genius

Trinket not quite so unappealing (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

charmless

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

'quite so unappealing' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'trinket not' is the wordplay.
'trinket' becomes 'charm' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'not' becomes 'less' (I've seen this in other clues).
'charm'+'less'='CHARMLESS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for charmless that I've seen before include "Unattractive" , "not winning" , "Lacking any appeal" , "Without attractive features" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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