Crossword Genius

Gather urgent request needs time (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pleat

'gather' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'urgent request needs time' is the wordplay.
'urgent request' becomes 'plea' (I've seen this before).
'needs' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'time' becomes 't'.
'plea'+'t'='PLEAT'

(Other definitions for pleat that I've seen before include "Gather" , "Fold in a skirt" , "Fold sewn or pressed into cloth" , "work on skirt?" , "Flat fold of cloth" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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