Crossword Genius

Pants for gents in Alaska to wear? (4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

long johns

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

'alaska to wear?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'pants for gents in' is the wordplay.
'pants' becomes 'long pants' (long pants is a kind of pants).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'gents in' becomes 'johns' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'long'+'johns'='LONG JOHNS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for long johns that I've seen before include "Some underclothing" , "So-called pirate's" , "Old habits" , "Thermal underpants" , "Pants with legs" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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