Crossword Genius

A girl from the east taking everyone aback (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ella

'a girl' is the definition.
(girl's name)

'east taking everyone aback' is the wordplay.
'east' becomes 'E' (synonyms).
'taking' says to put letters next to each other.
'everyone' becomes 'all' (all people).
'aback' is a reversal indicator.
'all' back-to-front is 'lla'.
'e'+'lla'='ELLA'

'from the' is the link.

(Other definitions for ella that I've seen before include "Diminutive of Eleanor" , ".... Fitzgerald, late great jazz diva" , "- - Fitzgerald (mus.)" , "Great late jazz singer . . . . Fitzgerald" , "- Wheeler Wilcox, US poet" .)

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app