Crossword Genius

Waste long time in prison (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dungeon

'prison' is the definition.
(a dungeon is a prison cell)

'waste long time' is the wordplay.
'waste' becomes 'dung' (dung is a kind of waste).
'long time' becomes 'eon' (eon is a kind of long time).
'dung'+'eon'='DUNGEON'

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for dungeon that I've seen before include "Dark place of confinement" , "old prison" , "part of prison" , "Eg, the Black Hole of Calcutta" , "Underground prison-cell" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.