Crossword Genius

Approaching naughty child then stopping (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

impending

'approaching' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'naughty child then stopping' is the wordplay.
'naughty child' becomes 'imp' (informal term for a misbehaving child).
'then' says to put letters next to each other.
'stopping' becomes 'ending' ('end' can be a synonym of 'stop').
'imp'+'ending'='IMPENDING'

(Other definitions for impending that I've seen before include "Looming" , "Threatening" , "coming?" , "About to happen" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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