Crossword Genius

Breathe in, out, sleep long and deep (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hibernate

'sleep long and deep' is the definition.

'breathe in out' is the wordplay.
'out' is an anagram indicator (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'breathe'+'in'='breathein'
'breathein' with letters rearranged gives 'HIBERNATE'.

(Other definitions for hibernate that I've seen before include "go out in the snow?" , "go dormant" , "Sleep durning winter" , "Become dormant" , "Breathe in for long winter sleep" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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