Disturb hornets by a bridge? (7)

I believe the answer is:

shorten

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'by a bridge?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'disturb hornets' is the wordplay.
'disturb' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'disturbed' mean this).
'hornets' is an anagram of 'SHORTEN'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for shorten that I've seen before include "Abridge" , "contract" , "Curtail" , "Abbreviate" , "Clip" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times and the Irish Times (Crosaire).

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