Crossword Genius

Tear about Long Island with a dependent (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

reliant

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'dependent' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'tear about long island with a' is the wordplay.
'tear' becomes 'rent' (rent is a kind of tear).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'long island with' becomes 'li' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'li'+'a'='lia'
'rent' going around 'lia' is 'RELIANT'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for reliant that I've seen before include "Dependent upon" , "needing help from others" , "Depending (on something)" , "leaning" , "Inspiring confidence" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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