Crossword Genius

Singer caught on time, one leaving Venetian island (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

contralto

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'singer' is the definition.
(I know that contralto is a type of singer)

'on time one leaving venetian island' is the wordplay.
'on time' becomes 'cont' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'leaving' is a deletion indicator.
'venetian island' becomes 'rialto' (I've seen this in another clue).
'rialto' with 'i' taken away is 'ralto'.
'cont'+'ralto'='CONTRALTO'

'caught' acts as a link.
This may not be right. It may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for contralto that I've seen before include "Singer - not car lot (anag)" , "Lowest female singer" , "Lowest range for a woman singer" , "Low female voice" , "Total corn! (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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