Crossword Genius

Friend with lots of flowers about to bloom? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

buddy

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'friend' is the definition.
(I know that buddy is a type of friend)

'lots of flowers about to bloom?' is the wordplay.
'lots of' becomes 'd'.
'flowers about' becomes 'y' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'to' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'bloom?' becomes 'bud' (bud is a kind of bloom).
'd'+'y'='dy'
'dy' put after 'bud' is 'BUDDY'.

'with' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for buddy that I've seen before include "Chum, sidekick" , "Close friend (US)" , "Friend (mainly US)" , "Best friend" , "An American pal" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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