Crossword Genius

Characteristic praise follows statue's full unveiling (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

attribute

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

'characteristic' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'praise follows statue's full unveiling' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'praise' could be 'tribute' and 'tribute' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'at' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for attribute that I've seen before include "A special characteristic" , "Ascribe (to a cause)" , "charge" , "Quality representative of person" , "Credit - property" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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