Crossword Genius

Sober sailors ring us after rough time (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abstemious

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sober' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'sailors ring us after rough time' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'sailors' could be 'abs' (AB is short for able seaman) and 'abs' is located in the answer.
'ring' could be 'o' (letter resembling a ring) and 'o' is present in the answer.
'us' is found in the answer.
an anagram of 'time' is 'temi' which is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for abstemious that I've seen before include "Self-denying" , "Temperate" , "not eating or drinking a lot" , "Indulging only moderately (in food/drink)" , "Restrained in one's appetites" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Telegraph.
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