Crossword Genius

One of those on the phone to crew members from Alien

Ross

I believe the answer is:

handset

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'one of those on the phone' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'crew members from alien' is the wordplay.
'crew members' becomes 'hands' (I've seen this before).
'from' says to put letters next to each other.
'alien' becomes 'et' (extra terrestrial).
'hands'+'et'='HANDSET'

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for handset that I've seen before include "part of phone" , "controller" , "Shed tan (anag.)" , "Phone receiver" , "Part of a telephone" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.
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