Turns up in icy surroundings but is well-liked (7)
I believe the answer is:
popular
'is well-liked' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'turns up in icy surroundings' is the wordplay.
'turns' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'in icy' becomes 'polar' (synonyms. I am not sure about the 'in' bit.).
'surroundings' is an insertion indicator.
'up' backwards is 'pu'.
'pu' placed inside 'polar' is 'POPULAR'.
'but' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for popular that I've seen before include "Fashionable" , "appealing to the public" , "Non-technical" , "The people's" , "Trendy" .)