Crossword Genius

Did one's best to point dirt out, possibly (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tried

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

'did one's best' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with social activities as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?

'to point dirt out possibly' is the wordplay.
'to' becomes 't' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'point' becomes 'E' (compass point).
'out' means to remove the last letter.
'possibly' is an anagram indicator.
'e'+'dirt'='edirt'
'edirt' with its final letter taken away is 'edir'.
'edir' with letters rearranged gives 'ried'.
't'+'ried'='TRIED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tried that I've seen before include "tasted" , "Had a crack" , "heard in court" , "Attempted" , "checked out" .)

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