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King George pub yard packed (old name The Eagle & Lion) (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gryphon

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

'eagle lion' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?

'king george pub yard packed old name' is the wordplay.
'king george' becomes 'gr' (Georgius Rex).
'pub' becomes 'ph' (public house).
'yard' becomes 'y' (abbreviation).
'packed' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters are packed into others).
'old name' becomes 'on' (this could be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'gr'+'ph'='grph'
'grph' placed around 'y' is 'gryph'.
'gryph'+'on'='GRYPHON'

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gryphon that I've seen before include "Eagle-headed, lion-bodied winged monster" , "He took Alice to Mock Turtle" , "Mythical beast part lion, part eagle" , "Winged monster with lion body" , "Alice's mythic creature" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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