Crossword Genius

A little Terence used at regular intervals in Othello? (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tel

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'othello?' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'a little terence used at regular intervals' is the wordplay.
'a little' indicates taking the first letters.
'used at' says to put letters next to each other.
'regular intervals' becomes 'el' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
The initial letter of 'terence' is 't'.
't'+'el'='TEL'

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tel that I've seen before include "-- Aviv; old mound" , "Phone number or Terry in short" , "Ancient mound in Arab lands" , "Ancient mound in Middle East" , "Phone number (abbrev.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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