Crossword Genius

Shrub extremely likely to be quite old (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

elderly

'be quite old' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'shrub extremely likely' is the wordplay.
'shrub' becomes 'elder' (elder is a kind of shrub).
'extremely' suggests removing the centre (only the extremes of the word are used).
'likely' with its centre removed is 'ly'.
'elder'+'ly'='ELDERLY'

'to' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for elderly that I've seen before include "Aged" , "Of advanced years" , "Mature" , "Past middle age, a senior citizen" , "Somewhat old" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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