Crossword Genius

United without captain in days gone by (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

once

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'in days gone by' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'united without captain' is the wordplay.
'united' becomes 'one' (as in a phrase like 'we are one').
'without' is an insertion indicator ('without' can be similar in meaning to 'outside').
'captain' becomes 'c' (this could be a standard abbreviation of which I'm unaware).
'one' enclosing 'c' is 'ONCE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for once that I've seen before include "Long ago" , "... upon a time for the storyteller" , "yesterday" , "Singly" , "in days of yore?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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