Quick as the recovery of a boy in the river? (6)
I believe the answer is:
speedy
'quick' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'the recovery of a boy in the river?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'boy' could be 'ed' (short for Edward) and 'ed' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'spey' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'as' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for speedy that I've seen before include "Express" , "Swift" , "Expeditious" , "in a fast car?" , "Done quickly" .)