In 2001 he computed a bit less than 45 minutes? (3)
I believe the answer is:
hal
'in 2001 he computed a bit less than 45 minutes?' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'in 2001 he' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'he' could be 'al' and 'al' is located in the answer.
A single letter 'h' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hal that I've seen before include "Henry, in short" , "Shakespeare's prince" , "future Henry V" , "Shakespeare's Prince_with Falstaff" , "Henry (abbrev.)" .)