Mean young woman was almost a disaster (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
near miss
'almost a disaster' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'mean young woman' is the wordplay.
'mean' becomes 'near' (both can mean miserly).
'young woman' becomes 'miss' (title for a young woman).
'near'+'miss'='NEAR MISS'
'was' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for near miss that I've seen before include "Wide of the target in seminars" , "A narrowly avoided collision in seminars" , "that doesn't quite hit the target" , "Just off the target (4,4)" , "meeting thankfully avoided" .)
