Possibly not a brilliant scientist? (6)
I believe the answer is:
newton
'scientist?' is the definition.
(Newton is an example)
'possibly not a brilliant' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'not' is 'ton' which is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'new' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for newton that I've seen before include "Great English scientist who discovered gravity" , "Englishman known for his work on gravity and motion" , "Sir Isaac -, seventeen to eighteenth century English scientist" , "Isaac . . . . . ., great English physicist who discovered gravity" , "Unit of force - English polymath, d. 1727" .)