Crossword Genius

Longed for tree on the day (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pined

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

'tree on the day' is the wordplay.
'tree' becomes 'pine' (pine is a kind of tree).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'the day' becomes 'd' (abbreviation for day).
'pine'+'d'='PINED'

(Other definitions for pined that I've seen before include "Longed; wasted (away)" , "Starved" , "Became ill with longing" , "Languished, yearned" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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