Crossword Genius

Question wife on chicken (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

when

'question' is the definition.
(when is a question word)

'wife on chicken' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'chicken' becomes 'hen' (hen is a kind of chicken).
'w'+'hen'='WHEN'

(Other definitions for when that I've seen before include "Over what period?" , "Say it when you''ve had enough" , "As soon as" , "stop pouring the drink" , "At what time?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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