Crossword Genius

Misfortune: Everyman is going to speechify at the opening (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ills

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'misfortune everyman is going to speechify at the opening' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'everyman is going to speechify at the opening' is the wordplay.
'everyman is going to' becomes 'I'll' (where 'Everyman' is the setter of the crossword).
'at the opening' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'speechify' is 's'.
'ill'+'s'='ILLS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ills that I've seen before include "infections" , "they're troublesome" , "God-like" , "Evils or sicknesses" , "Sicknesses or harms" .)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.
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