Crossword Genius

No citrus flavour before with balsam? Leave well alone! (4,2,7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

noli me tangere

'leave well alone' is the definition.
(Latin for 'touch me not')

'no citrus flavour before' is the wordplay.
'citrus' becomes 'lime' (lime is a kind of citrus).
'flavour' becomes 'tang' ('tang' can be a synonym of 'flavour').
'before' becomes 'ere' (usually literary).
'no'+'lime'+'tang'+'ere'='NOLI-ME-TANGERE'

'with balsam?' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

(Another definition for noli me tangere that I've seen is " plant".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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