Crossword Genius

Clip round the ear - or waist (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

belt

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

'clip' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'round the ear or waist' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'bel' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for belt that I've seen before include "Strap" , "Zone - connecting strip" , "Hit - trousers' support" , "A vigorous blow" , "Token of judo rank" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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