Ring taken by curious cleric is returned shortly (4,4)

I believe the answer is:

very soon

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'ring taken' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'curious cleric is returned shortly' is the wordplay.
'curious' becomes 'y' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'cleric' becomes 'Rev' (abbreviation for Reverend).
'is returned' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'shortly' becomes 'soon' (synonyms).
'y'+'rev'='yrev'
'yrev' in reverse letter order is 'very'.
'very'+'soon'='VERY SOON'

'by' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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