It takes but a trice to finish her off! (3)
I believe the answer is:
bea
'trice to finish her off' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.
'it takes but a' is the wordplay.
'it' becomes 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT').
'takes' indicates putting letters inside (take can mean to capture or invade).
'but' becomes 'b' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'b'+'a'='ba'
'e' going into 'ba' is 'BEA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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