Make a gesture or answer Italian woman (7)

I believe the answer is:

signora

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'italian woman' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'make a gesture or answer' is the wordplay.
'make a gesture' becomes 'sign' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'answer' becomes 'a' (abbreviation eg in Q and A).
'sign'+'or'+'a'='SIGNORA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for signora that I've seen before include "European lady" , "lady in Milan" , "wife on the Continent" , "Italian married title" , "Young lady" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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