Crossword Genius

Past master with desire to carry on (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

prolong

'carry on' is the definition.
(prolonging is a kind of carrying on)

'past master with desire' is the wordplay.
'past master' becomes 'pro' (a pro is a master).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'desire' becomes 'long' (longing is a kind of desiring).
'pro'+'long'='PROLONG'

'to' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for prolong that I've seen before include "delay" , "Spin out" , "Extend the duration of" , "Extend in length" , "Have extended" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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