Crossword Genius

Many a yarn has been spun on these islands (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

canary

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

'these islands' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adverb but the answer is not.

'many a yarn has been spun' is the wordplay.
'many' becomes 'c' (C is the Roman numeral for y00).
'yarn' becomes 'y' (this might be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'has' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'been' becomes 'ran' (running is a kind of being).
'spun' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'y'+'ran'='yran'
'yran' written backwards gives 'nary'.
'c'+'a'+'nary'='CANARY'

'on' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for canary that I've seen before include "grass" , "This flies" , "Yellow bird, formerly taken down mines" , "a sort of finch" , "Finch prized for its song" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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.