Crossword Genius

Medication, before a long time, goes to spoil (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pillage

'to spoil' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'medication before a long time' is the wordplay.
'medication' becomes 'pill' (pill is a kind of medication).
'before' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a long time' becomes 'age' (an age is a period of time).
'pill'+'age'='PILLAGE'

'goes' is the link.

(Other definitions for pillage that I've seen before include "Sacking" , "Violent stealing" , "Plunder, sack" , "Rob with violence" , "Loot" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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