Crossword Genius

Idle talk about head of engineering plant (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sage

'plant' is the definition.
(sage is a kind of plant)

'idle talk about head of engineering' is the wordplay.
'idle talk' becomes 'gas' (I've seen this before).
'about' is a reversal indicator.
'head of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'engineering' is 'e'.
'gas' in reverse letter order is 'sag'.
'sag'+'e'='SAGE'

(Other definitions for sage that I've seen before include "Fragrant herb having wisdom" , "Profoundly wise" , "Herb used in cooking" , "Oracle; herb" , "Herb for the wise one" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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