Crossword Genius

Directions restricting a girl’s nursemaids (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nannies

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

'nursemaids' is the definition.
('nanny' can be a synonym of 'nursemaid')

'directions restricting a girl's' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'directions' could be 'nn' (the abbreviation for north written twice) and 'nn' is found in the answer.
'a' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for nannies that I've seen before include "Female goats" , "female servants?" , "nursemaids" , "They look after children" , "Children's nurses" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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