Crossword Genius

Girl meets boy — and ducks (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

evades

'ducks' is the definition.
('evade' can be a synonym of 'duck')

'girl meets boy' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'eva' (girl's name).
'meets' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'boy' becomes 'des' (short for Desmond).
'eva'+'des'='EVADES'

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for evades that I've seen before include "Escapes, avoids" , "Dodges or equivocates" , "Dodges, say capture" , "Avoids by cleverness, maybe arrest" , "Shakes off" .)

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