Crossword Genius

I had shortened a girls name (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ida

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'name' is the definition.

'i had shortened a girls' is the wordplay.
'i had' becomes 'I'd' (contraction).
'shortened' means to remove the last letter.
'a girls' becomes 'da' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'id' with its final letter taken away is 'i'.
'i'+'da'='IDA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ida that I've seen before include "Poetic princess" , "- Rubinstein, Russian dancer, actress" , "Princess __ (G&S comic opera)" , "Classic mount" , "lady" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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