Crossword Genius

Saying what will be unusual if not urgent about measure (7-7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fortune-telling

'saying what will be' is the definition.
(saying what the future will be)

'unusual if not urgent about measure' is the wordplay.
'unusual' indicates an anagram.
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'measure' becomes 'ell' (historical unit of length).
'if'+'not'+'urgent'='ifnoturgent'
'ifnoturgent' anagrammed gives 'fortuneting'.
'fortuneting' going around 'ell' is 'FORTUNE-TELLING'.

(Another definition for fortune-telling that I've seen is " What the crystal ball presages".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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