Consumed in great expectation (3)

I believe the answer is:

ate

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

'in great expectation' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'ATE' can be found hidden inside 'great expectation'.

(Other definitions for ate that I've seen before include "Consumed food" , "Ingested" , "Munched" , "Tea (anag.)" , "Worried" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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