At the time, a tow-headed female (4)

I believe the answer is:

then

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'at the time' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'a tow-headed female' is the wordplay.
'a tow-headed' becomes 't' (this might be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'female' becomes 'hen' (female chicken).
't'+'hen'='THEN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for then that I've seen before include "Consequently" , "Once upon a time" , "Subsequently - previously" , "At that time; next" , "Afterwards - as a result" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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