Crossword Genius

2 final characters in single day (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sozzled

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'2' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps you can see an association between them that I can't see?

'final characters in single day' is the wordplay.
'final characters' becomes 'ZZ' (two Z's - Z is the end of the alphabet).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'single' becomes 'sole' (synonyms).
'day' becomes 'd' (abbreviation for day).
'zz' going within 'sole' is 'sozzle'.
'sozzle'+'d'='SOZZLED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sozzled that I've seen before include "Sloshed" , "Drunk" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app