Crossword Genius

Ancient disheartened by present day possibly is prepared (2,3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

at the ready

'is prepared' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'ancient disheartened by present day possibly' is the wordplay.
'disheartened' suggests removing the centre.
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'present' becomes 'there' (I've seen this before).
'possibly' indicates an anagram.
'ancient' with its middle taken out is 'at'.
'day' anagrammed gives 'ady'.
'at'+'there'+'ady'='AT THE READY'

(Other definitions for at the ready that I've seen before include "on standby" , "dipping hand in till?" , "Prepared for instant action" , "Poised for action" , "Prepared or available for immediate use" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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