Crossword Genius

Girl in West Side Story fails to start song (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aria

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

'song' is the definition.
(aria is a kind of song)

'girl in west side story fails to start' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'side' could be 'r' (abbreviation for right) and 'r' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'aia' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aria that I've seen before include "Operatic tune" , "complex song" , "Refrain" , "Vocal solo in a cantata etc" , "Song for solo voice from an oratorio, cantata etc" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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