Crossword Genius

Getting prepared? Elizabeth's dad loves old china! (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grooming

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

'getting prepared? elizabeth's dad' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'loves old china' is the wordplay.
'loves' becomes 'gro' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'china' becomes 'ming' (Chinese porcelain from the Ming dynasty).
'gro'+'o'+'ming'='GROOMING'

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I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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