Bear was very loud during short life (5)
I believe the answer is:
biffo
'bear' is the definition.
(as in comic book character Biffo the Bear)
'very loud during short life' is the wordplay.
'very loud' becomes 'ff' (musical abbreviation).
'during' is an insertion indicator.
'short life' becomes 'bio' (I've seen this in another clue).
'ff' inserted within 'bio' is 'BIFFO'.
'was' acts as a link.
(Another definition for biffo that I've seen is " 4 [BEAR]".)
I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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