Crossword Genius

Afraid when one female unleashed reprimand (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

earful

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'reprimand' is the definition.
(earful is a kind of reprimand)

'afraid when one female unleashed' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'when' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is present in the answer.
'one' could be 'a' and 'a' is present in the answer.
'female' could be 'f' (common abbreviation) and 'f' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for earful that I've seen before include "harangue" , "A telling-off" , "Ticking-off" , "load of wax, possibly" , "Prolonged and angry reprimand" .)

I've seen this clue in the Independent.
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