In confusion, I met father (4)

I believe the answer is:

time

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'father' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.

'in confusion i met' is the wordplay.
'in confusion' indicates anagramming the letters.
'i'+'met'='imet'
'imet' with letters rearranged gives 'TIME'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for time that I've seen before include "Age" , "Prison sentence (colloq.)" , "Bird" , "Speech to close pub" , "It's done in prison" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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