Toot at crossing (4,4)

I believe the answer is:

john ford

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'toot' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'at crossing' is the wordplay.
'at' becomes 'john' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'crossing' becomes 'ford' (ford is a kind of crossing).
'john'+'ford'='JOHN FORD'

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I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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