Crossword Genius

Love of the past (3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

old flame

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the past' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?

'love' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'love' could be 'flame' (I've seen this before) and 'flame' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'old' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for old flame that I've seen before include "Ex-lover - the fire still burns" , "Someone once loved" , "still 1 across [ALIGHT], it seems" , "Ex" , "Former partner" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.
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