Crossword Genius

Father during betting is very careful (11)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

painstaking

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

'very careful' is the definition.
'painstaking' can be an answer for 'careful' ('painstaking' can be similar in meaning to 'careful'). I'm not certain of the 'very' bit.

'father during betting' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa is a kind of father).
'during' becomes 'in' (I've seen this in other clues).
'betting' becomes 'staking' (staking is a kind of betting).
'pa'+'in'+'staking'='PAINSTAKING'

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for painstaking that I've seen before include "Assiduous, thorough" , "Extremely careful" , "using great care" , "Diligent, scrupulous" , "Laboriously careful" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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