Crossword Genius

Caught erstwhile setter’s fancy (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

conceive

'fancy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'caught erstwhile setter's' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'erstwhile' becomes 'once' ('once' can be a synonym of 'erstwhile').
'setter's' becomes 'ive' (I've seen this in other clues).
'c'+'once'+'ive'='CONCEIVE'

(Other definitions for conceive that I've seen before include "Form thought in the mind - or become pregnant" , "Design" , "Have the idea for" , "Envisage - become pregnant" , "Become pregnant - imagine" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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