Crossword Genius

A long time to get salary topped (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ages

'a long' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'time to get salary topped' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 'age' (age is a kind of time**).
'to get' says to put letters next to each other.
'topped' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'salary' is 's'.
'age'+'s'='AGES'

(Other definitions for ages that I've seen before include "Grows old like sage" , "Long periods" , "... of Man, according to WB Yeats" , "Rock of - - (hymn)" , "Yonks" .)

I've seen this clue in 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.