Crossword Genius

How the story began came out in open letters (4,4,1,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

once upon a time

'how the story began' is the definition.
(first line of many fairy tales)

'came out in open letters' is the wordplay.
'letters' indicates an anagram.
'came'+'out'+'in'+'open'='cameoutinopen'
'cameoutinopen' with letters rearranged gives 'ONCE UPON A TIME'.

(Other definitions for once upon a time that I've seen before include "Fairytale beginning" , "Start of fairy tale" , "How to start of a children's story?" , "Tale opener?" , "Start of a fairytale" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.