As we speak (3)
I believe the answer is:
now
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">as we speak</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for now that I've seen before include "straight away" , "The present moment" , "At the present time" , "Immediately" , "Today" .)