Crossword Genius

Saying this time American lawyer will be restrained (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

adage

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'saying' is the definition.
(adage is a kind of saying)

'time american lawyer will be restrained' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 'age' (an age is a period of time).
'american lawyer will' becomes 'da' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'be restrained' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are restrained by others).
'age' placed around 'da' is 'ADAGE'.

'this' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for adage that I've seen before include "Maxim, aphorism" , "Short statement expressing a general truth" , "Well-remembered proverb or saying" , "Saw, proverb" , "Proverb expressing a general truth" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app