Crossword Genius

Did an avalanche engulf him? (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alan

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'avalanche engulf him?' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'did an' is the wordplay.
'did' becomes 'al' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'al'+'an'='ALAN'

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(Other definitions for alan that I've seen before include "-- Bennett, playwright" , "One of Robin Hood's men was - a Dale" , "- Bennett, English actor, dramatist, writer" , "- Ayckbourn, English playwright" , "-- Sugar, British entrepreneur" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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