Crossword Genius

Guess a second letter (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

beta

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

'second letter' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'guess a' is the wordplay.
'guess' becomes 'bet' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'bet'+'a'='BETA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for beta that I've seen before include "Second-class" , "Second Greek letter, B" , "Character between alpha and gamma" , "software under test" , "character in Marathon" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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