Crossword Genius

Evidence of sorrow for the rip (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tear

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'rip' is the definition.
(I know that rip can be written as tear)

'evidence of sorrow for the' is the wordplay.
'evidence of sorrow' becomes 'ear' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'ear' after 't' is 'TEAR'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tear that I've seen before include "Dash; drop" , "A drop of optical moisture" , "wrench" , "Rate (anag.)" , "A rip goes on a binge?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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