Crossword Genius

Drink nothing returning for work (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

opus

'for work' is the definition.
(an opus is an artistic work)

'drink nothing returning' is the wordplay.
'drink' becomes 'sup' (to sup is to drink).
'nothing' becomes 'O' (looks like zero - 0).
'returning' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'sup'+'o'='supo'
'supo' back-to-front is 'OPUS'.

(Other definitions for opus that I've seen before include "Creative work, eg in writing, art or music" , "Composition - magnum __" , "Soup (anag.)" , "Composer's catalogue number" , "Artistic work" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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