Crossword Genius

Borders of Everglades - pretty spot (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

espy

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

'spot' is the definition.
(I know that spot can be written as espy)

'borders of everglades pretty' is the wordplay.
'borders of' suggests removing the centre.
'pretty' becomes 'py' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'everglades' with its middle removed is 'es'.
'es'+'py'='ESPY'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for espy that I've seen before include "Spot at a distance" , "Observe, notice" , "Catch a glimpse of" , "Pick out at a distance" , "Make out at a distance" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app