Crossword Genius

Getting on with the French, can get a very early form of a written tongue (3-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

old-latin

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'a very early form of a written tongue' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'getting on with the french can' is the wordplay.
'getting on' becomes 'old' ('getting on a bit' means 'old').
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'the french' becomes 'la' ('the' in French).
'can' becomes 'tin' (both are metal containers).
'old'+'la'+'tin'='OLD-LATIN'

'get' acts as a link.

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