An exclamation of quality heartache (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
good grief
'an exclamation' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't tell whether this works.
'quality heartache' is the wordplay.
'quality' becomes 'good' (good is a kind of quality).
'heartache' becomes 'grief' (synonyms).
'good'+'grief'='GOOD GRIEF'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for good grief that I've seen before include "Exasperated utterance" , "Oath given surprisingly" , "I'm dismayed!" , "Exclamation of surprise or dismay" .)