Crossword Genius

Very friendly alien seen in copse (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

thicket

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'copse' is the definition.
('thicket' can be a synonym of 'copse')

'very friendly alien' is the wordplay.
'very friendly' becomes 'thick' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'very' bit.**).
'alien' becomes 'et' (extra terrestrial).
'thick'+'et'='THICKET'

'seen in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for thicket that I've seen before include "Copse" , "Dense mass of trees or shrubs" , "A patch of shrubs and small trees" , "Dense bushy area" , "dense vegetation" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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