Crossword Genius

Get a Times and an Independent in the centre (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

attain

'get' is the definition.
(attaining is a kind of getting)

'a times and an independent in the centre' is the wordplay.
'times' becomes 'tt' (two abbreviations for time).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'independent' becomes 'i'.
'in the centre' indicates putting letters inside (some letters go in the middle of other letters).
'an' enclosing 'i' is 'ain'.
'a'+'tt'+'ain'='ATTAIN'

(Other definitions for attain that I've seen before include "Arrive at, accomplish" , "Reach (age, size etc.)" , "Succeed in accomplishing; reach" , "Achieve or accomplish" , "Succeed in reaching, achieve" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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