Crossword Genius

Big time Native American (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

osage

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

'big time' is the wordplay.
'big' becomes 'os'.
'time' becomes 'age' (an age is a period of time).
'os'+'age'='OSAGE'

(Other definitions for osage that I've seen before include "Member of the Native American people, once occupying the Missouri valley" , "Native Americans from Missouri - age so (anag)" , "Language" , "Indian people" , "Amerindian" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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