Crossword Genius

Gold and stone before going without luxuries (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

austere

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

'going without luxuries' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'gold and stone before' is the wordplay.
'gold' becomes 'Au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'stone' becomes 'st'.
'before' becomes 'ere' (poetic term for 'before').
'au'+'st'+'ere'='AUSTERE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for austere that I've seen before include "Severe or strict in attitude" , "Lacking adornments" , "Grim -- a US tree (anag)" , "Hard" , "Spartan and abstemious" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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