Crossword Genius

Moralist has bagels regularly before work (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aesop

'moralist' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'bagels regularly before work' is the wordplay.
'regularly' indicates alternate letters (regularly take one letter, leave next etc.).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
The alternating letters of 'bagels' are 'aes'.
'aes'+'op'='AESOP'

'has' is the link.

(Other definitions for aesop that I've seen before include "classic author" , "Greek fabulist (Tortoise and the Hare)" , "Greek teller of animal tales with a moral" , "Greek father of fables" , "So ape the writer of fables" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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