The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word AGES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
G
E
S
More clues leading to the result AGES
- A long time back for example visiting S Africa
- For a long time, salaries drop 20%
- Hi-tech Tokyo corporation on the rise for very long time
- Portion of cabbage soup may last a while
- Gets on games consoles when upset
- Front ripped off sheets in Times
- Gets old, wise person to move south
- Speaks with passion dismissing earliest of revolutionary periods
- Prophet taking his son back is looking older
- Gets on stage, scared to undress
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "For a long time" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case for a long time = ages.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does AGES mean?
AGES noun- The whole duration of a being, whether animal, plant, or other kind, being alive.
- The number of full years, months, days, hours, etc., that someone, or something, has been alive.
- One of the stages of life.
- The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested.
- A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
- A great period in the history of the Earth.
- A period of one hundred years; a century.
- The people who live during a particular period.
- A generation.
- A long time.
- A unit of geologic time subdividing an epoch into smaller parts.
- The right of the player to the left of the dealer to pass the first round in betting, and then to come in last or stay out; also, the player holding this position; the eldest hand.
- That part of the duration of a being or a thing which is between its beginning and any given time; specifically the size of that part.
- Mature age; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.
- An advanced period of life; the latter part of life; the state of being old; eld, seniority.
- To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
- To postpone an action that would extinguish something, as a debt.
- To categorize by age.
- To grow aged; to become old; to show marks of age.
- A long time.