Crossword Genius

Old way to get round staff? (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rod

'staff?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'old way to get round' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'way' becomes 'rd' (**).
'to get round' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'o' going inside 'rd' is 'ROD'.

(Other definitions for rod that I've seen before include "Stick - measure" , "Imperial measure" , "Rigid stick" , "Little boy" , "Cane - shaft" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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