The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 2 letter word EARLY ON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
E
A
R
L
Y
O
N
More clues leading to the result EARLY ON
- Peer over there before much time has passed
- Tragic figure not heading to French city in initial stages
- Peer that follows just after the start
- Peer over that before long
- Attention on city while still young?
- After not much time, noble French city joined by commoner?
- Like a nobleman working after a short time
- Listening device that is intercepted by line near the start
- Nobleman over there with but little time elapsed
- Nearly nuts about Oscar after a short time
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "before much time has passed" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case before much time has passed = early on.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.