Possibly past getting excited (5)

I believe the answer is:

tense

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'possibly past' is the definition.
(past tense)

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for tense that I've seen before include "past possibly" , "Could be present" , "Maybe future" , "quite possibly perfect" , "It may be perfect" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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