Crossword Genius

Stand outside quarters in a state of the jitters (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tense

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

'a state of the jitters' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'stand outside quarters' is the wordplay.
'stand' becomes 'tee' (I've seen this before).
'outside' indicates putting letters inside.
'quarters' becomes 'ns'.
'tee' enclosing 'ns' is 'TENSE'.

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tense that I've seen before include "contract" , "Rigid, or grammatical time" , "Stretched tightly, unable to relax" , "Unrelaxed; form of verb" , "past, say" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app