Crossword Genius

Vacuous tortoise appeared to find a flower (3,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tea rose

'a flower' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'vacuous tortoise appeared' is the wordplay.
'vacuous' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'appeared' becomes 'arose' (I've seen this in another clue).
'tortoise' with its middle removed is 'te'.
'te'+'arose'='TEA-ROSE'

'to find' is the link.

(Other definitions for tea rose that I've seen before include "Scented garden flower" , "Eats roe (anag.)" , "Garden plant" , "Flowering bush" , "Bloom" .)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.
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