Crossword Genius

Grew old in the attempt - a calamity (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tragedy

'a calamity' is the definition.
(I know that calamity can be written as tragedy)

'grew old in the attempt' is the wordplay.
'grew old' becomes 'aged' ('age' can be a synonym of 'grow old').
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'the attempt' becomes 'try' ('try' can be a synonym of 'attempt').
'aged' going into 'try' is 'TRAGEDY'.

(Other definitions for tragedy that I've seen before include "story ending unhappily" , "Serious catastrophe" , "Gyrated (anag)" , "play like 'Macbeth', for example" , "Play ending unhappily" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app