Dull doctor starts early (5)

I believe the answer is:

drear

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'dull' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'doctor starts early' is the wordplay.
'doctor' becomes 'Dr' (abbreviation).
'starts early' becomes 'ear' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'dr'+'ear'='DREAR'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for drear that I've seen before include "Literarily gloomy" , "Cheerless (literary)" , "Grim" , "Depressingly dull" , "Dull and tedious" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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