Crossword Genius

Make amends early in the afternoon? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

atone

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

'make amends' is the definition.
(to atone is to make amends for a wrong deed)

'early in the afternoon?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'afternoon?' could be 'a' (abbreviation) and 'a' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'one' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for atone that I've seen before include "Make up, compensate (for)" , "Adopt a cause" , "Make amends (for something)" , "Make up for wrong done" , "In agreement - sounds singular" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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