Crossword Genius

Attention surrounding vehicle turning up for daily grind (3,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rat race

'daily grind' is the definition.

'attention surrounding vehicle turning up' is the wordplay.
'attention' becomes 'ear' (have the ear of someone is to have their attention).
'surrounding' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'vehicle' becomes 'cart' (cart is a kind of vehicle).
'turning up' is a reversal indicator.
'ear' placed around 'cart' is 'ecartar'.
'ecartar' reversed gives 'RAT RACE'.

'for' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for rat race that I've seen before include "Continual routine of hectic competition" , "Fiercely competitive working life" , "Competitive dash" , "tough competition" , "day-to-day struggle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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