Crossword Genius

A lot of cane turned into a cot (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

crib

'a cot' is the definition.
(I know that cot can be written as crib)

'a lot of cane turned' is the wordplay.
'a lot of' means to remove the last letter (a lot of the word but not all of it).
'cane' becomes 'birch' (birch could historically mean a cane).
'turned' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'birch' with its last letter taken off is 'birc'.
'birc' written backwards gives 'CRIB'.

'into' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for crib that I've seen before include "Child's bed - copy" , "24 ac" , "A baby's cot in America" , "urban dwelling" , "Translation cheat; fodder rack" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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