Crossword Genius

Encountered love in Morecambe, maybe, so brilliantly fast! (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

meteoric

'brilliantly fast' is the definition.
(as in a meteoric rise to fame)

'encountered love in morecambe maybe' is the wordplay.
'encountered' becomes 'met' ('meet' can be a synonym of 'encounter').
'love' becomes 'o' (love means zero in tennis).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'morecambe maybe' becomes 'eric' (comedian Eric Morecambe).
'o' placed within 'eric' is 'eoric'.
'met'+'eoric'='METEORIC'

'so' is the link.

(Other definitions for meteoric that I've seen before include "with brilliant speed" , "Of a shooting star; remarkably fast" , "Remarkably quick" , "Remarkably rapid" , "Fast; brilliant" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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