Foretell the closure of Dover? (7)
I believe the answer is:
portend
'foretell' is the definition.
(I know that foretell can be written as portend)
'the closure of dover?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'closure' could be 'end' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'end' is located in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for portend that I've seen before include "Be a sign of (impending calamity)" , "Omen" , "Foreshadow" , "Signal" , "forecast" .)