Crossword Genius

Cut short a numbered musical work (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lop

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

'cut short' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'a numbered musical work' is the wordplay.
'a numbered' becomes 'l' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'musical work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
'l'+'op'='LOP'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lop that I've seen before include "Prune, cut the top off" , "Chop (off)" , "Hack" , "Remove branches from a tree" , "Cut away branches or twigs" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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