Crossword Genius

Long to finish early in 2022 perhaps (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

year

'2022 perhaps' is the definition.
(2022 is a year)

'long to finish early' is the wordplay.
'long' becomes 'yearn' (synonyms).
'to finish early' means to remove the last letter (I've seen 'finishing early' mean this (the word finishes earlier than normal)).
'yearn' with its last letter taken away is 'YEAR'.

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for year that I've seen before include "Twelvemonth" , "Many students" , "Orbital period" , "12 months" , "Jan to Dec" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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