Crossword Genius

Quickly prepared in street by worker maybe (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

instant

'quickly prepared' is the definition.
(as in instant coffee)

'in street by worker maybe' is the wordplay.
'street' becomes 'st' (abbreviation).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'worker maybe' becomes 'ant' (worker is a type of ant).
'in'+'st'+'ant'='INSTANT'

(Other definitions for instant that I've seen before include "Immediate; flash" , "Mo" , "Fast, flash" , "Immediate, twinkling" , "Split second" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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