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Carefree chortle with Lucy after leaving uni and working (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

halcyon

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

'chortle with lucy after leaving uni and working' is the wordplay.
'chortle with' becomes 'ha' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'after leaving' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'uni' becomes 'u' (U is an abbreviation for university).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'working' becomes 'on' (e.g. a machine is working or on).
'lucy' with 'u' removed is 'lcy'.
'ha'+'lcy'+'on'='HALCYON'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for halcyon that I've seen before include "Prosperous" , "Idyllic" , "Calm and happy - kingfisher" , "Bird" , "Such days are calm and happy" .)

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