Clue to new gains lost (6)

I believe the answer is:

signal

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'clue' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'new gains lost' is the wordplay.
'new' indicates anagramming the letters.
'lost' becomes 'l' (this could be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'gains' anagrammed gives 'signa'.
'signa'+'l'='SIGNAL'

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for signal that I've seen before include "(Traffic) light" , "Gesture or object giving information" , "Indication; a train control" , "Gesture encoding a message" , "See 7" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.

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