Crossword Genius

Sit around drunk at four, late out of theatre (13)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

postoperative

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'sit around drunk at four late out of theatre' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'sit around drunk at four' is the wordplay.
'sit' becomes 'pose' (as in sitting for a painter).
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'drunk' becomes 'toper' (toper can mean a drunken person).
'four' becomes 'IV' (Roman numerals for four).
'toper'+'at'+'iv'='toperativ'
'pose' going around 'toperativ' is 'POSTOPERATIVE'.

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(Other definitions for postoperative that I've seen before include "just beyond the theatre?" , "Relating to period after surgery" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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