What does the cryptic crossword clue "'Not so clever', old Beatty said to employer (7)" mean?

The definition is "Not so clever". The wordplay uses a homophone (sounds like). O (abbreviation="old") + B (first_letter="Beatty") + T (first_letter="to") + USER (synonym="employer") = OBTUSER; definition: "'Not so clever'," The answer is OBTUSER.

'Not so clever', old Beatty said to employer (7)

Guardian Cryptic #29109 | 25 Across | 2023-06-29 flower

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