Crossword Genius

Several periods are given up

Ross

I believe the answer is:

era

'several periods' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'are given up' is the wordplay.
'given up' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'are' backwards is 'ERA'.

(Other definitions for era that I've seen before include "Cycle" , "Significant time" , "Special time" , "Epoch, period" , "Age marked by a distinctive character" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Mail.
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