Crossword Genius

Means of crossing forest location between streets, working east (8,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stepping stone

'means of crossing' is the definition.
(stepping stones let you cross water)

'forest location between streets working east' is the wordplay.
'forest location' becomes 'epping' (Epping Forest).
'between' is an insertion indicator.
'streets' becomes 'stst' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'working' becomes 'on'.
'east' becomes 'e' (synonyms).
'epping' placed within 'stst' is 'steppingst'.
'steppingst'+'on'+'e'='STEPPING-STONE'

(Other definitions for stepping stone that I've seen before include "means to get better" , "feature across stream?" , "Aid to gradual progress" , "Footrest in river" , "This may help one to make progress" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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