Crossword Genius

Quite rare, yet growing wild in former times (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

yesteryear

'in former times' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'quite rare yet growing wild' is the wordplay.
'quite' becomes 'yes' ('quite!' can be used to express agreement).
'growing wild' is an anagram indicator.
'rare'+'yet'='rareyet'
'rareyet' anagrammed gives 'teryear'.
'yes'+'teryear'='YESTERYEAR'

(Other definitions for yesteryear that I've seen before include "The recent past" , "Twelve months ago" , "Days gone by" , "Former times" , "Time disappeared" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.