Crossword Genius

Early fame, hot idea makes (5,2,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ahead of time

'early' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'fame hot idea makes' is the wordplay.
'makes' indicates anagramming the letters.
'fame'+'hot'+'idea'='famehotidea'
'famehotidea' is an anagram of 'AHEAD OF TIME'.

(Another definition for ahead of time that I've seen is " Early".)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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