Female went first and escaped (4)
I believe the answer is:
fled
'escaped' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'female went first' is the wordplay.
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'went first' becomes 'led'.
'f'+'led'='FLED'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for fled that I've seen before include "Did a runner" , "Ran or hurried away" , "Left the field" , "Female showed the way and escaped" , "dashed off elsewhere" .)