Crossword Genius

Girl disheartened for very long time (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ages

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'very long time' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'girl disheartened' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'Ag'.
'disheartened' becomes 'es' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'ag'+'es'='AGES'

'for' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ages that I've seen before include "Times" , "Gets older" , "Donkey's years" , "Sage (anag)" , "Historical eras" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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