Crossword Genius

Hannibal’s men fed in the morning (1-4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

a-team

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

'hannibal's men' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.

'fed in the morning' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'fed' could be 'ate' ('eat' can be a synonym of 'feed') and 'ate' is present in the answer.
'morning' could be 'am' and 'am' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for a-team that I've seen before include "Elite group of soldiers or workers" , "top people" , "Elite troops" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times.
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