Hitherto the aim of boys wanting to go out with girls (2,4)
I believe the answer is:
to date
'hitherto' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adverbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'the aim of boys wanting to go out with girls' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is present in the answer.
'go out' could be 'date' (dating is a kind of going out) and 'date' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for to date that I've seen before include "Thus far" , "Amorous American's aim," , "Up to this time - check calendar" , "up to the present day" , "Until this point in time" .)