After spring, darkness reduced, just about (4-4)
I believe the answer is:
well-nigh
'just about' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'after spring darkness reduced' is the wordplay.
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'spring' becomes 'well' (both can mean a source of water).
'darkness' becomes 'night' (night is a period of darkness).
'reduced' means to remove the last letter.
'night' with its final letter taken away is 'nigh'.
'well' next to 'nigh' is 'WELL-NIGH'.
(Other definitions for well-nigh that I've seen before include "Amost, very nearly" , "Healthy plus near = almost" .)