Crossword Genius

Cut hair whimsically and cause anguish (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

distress

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

'anguish' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'cut hair whimsically and' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'hair' could be 'tress' (tress is a kind of hair) and 'tress' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'dis' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'cause' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for distress that I've seen before include "Unhappiness" , "State of suffering" , "Mayday is such a signal." , "Anguish - trouble - danger" , "Psychological suffering" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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