Crossword Genius

Cry that goes up when there's not enough salad? (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alas

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

'cry' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Cry of grief' mean 'alas' so perhaps 'cry' could also mean 'alas')

'goes up when there's not enough salad?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'when' could be 'as' (eg 'when I walked' means 'as I walked') and 'as' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'that' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for alas that I've seen before include "Sad to say!" , "Cry of grief" , "'- Poor Yorick' (Hamlet)" , "Sadly, unfortunately" , "By bad luck" .)

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