Crossword Genius

Long time before noon (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

yearn

'long' is the definition.
(I know that long can be written as yearn)

'time before noon' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 'year' (I've seen this in other clues).
'before' says to put letters next to each other.
'noon' becomes 'n'.
'year'+'n'='YEARN'

(Other definitions for yearn that I've seen before include "Desire, want" , "Pant - pine" , "Long - pine" , "Desire strongly" , "Curdle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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.