Crossword Genius

Get your money on "Halfback" early (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

betimes

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

'early' is the definition.
(I know that early can be written as betimes)

'get your money on half-back' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'get' could be 'be' ('get' can mean 'come to be') and 'be' is located in the answer.
'money' could be 'm' (abbreviation used in economics) and 'm' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'ties' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for betimes that I've seen before include "Soon or early (Old English)" , "speedily" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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