Crossword Genius

Heard a woman cry (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alas

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

'cry' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Cry of grief' mean 'alas' so perhaps 'cry' could also mean 'alas')

'heard a woman' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'las' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for alas that I've seen before include "Exclamation of misfortune" , "Sad expression" , "Too bad, so sad" , "Expression of grief/pity" , "Oh dear!" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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