Crossword Genius

Long to decorate? Not I! (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pant

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

'long' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'decorate? not i' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'not' could be 'nt' (synonyms) and 'nt' is present in the answer.
'i' could be 'a' and 'a' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'p' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pant that I've seen before include "Breathe noisily after running" , "Gasp for breath (like a hot dog?)" , "Sound out of breath" , "Breathe heavily" , "Breath rapidly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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