The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 4 letter word GAP YEAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
G
A
P
Y
E
A
R
More clues leading to the result GAP YEAR
- Break before going up in space endlessly long
- Rent time is when student's not around?
- Break from education to go into space?
- Variable pay when stuck in outfit in period before college?
- Time out before study in space age unit
- Tackle outstanding pay when desperate for some time off
- Opening period taken after school?
- Time off, stuff punctuated by irregular pay
- Poor pay, wearing no longer fashionable clothes – 2020, in effect, for students?
- Space age opportunity for school-leavers?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "intermediate period" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case intermediate period = gap year.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.