Crossword Genius

Fearing daughter reaching town (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dreading

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'fearing' is the definition.
('dread' can be a synonym of 'fear')

'daughter reaching town' is the wordplay.
'daughter reaching' becomes 'd' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'town' becomes 'reading' (I've seen this before).
'd'+'reading'='DREADING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dreading that I've seen before include "Certainly not looking forward to" , "Being terribly afraid of something to come" , "anxious about" , "Feeling apprehensive" , "Looking ahead with apprehension" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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