Crossword Genius

Notice small girl face crowds (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dismissal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'notice small' is the definition.
'dismissal' can be an answer for 'notice' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'small' bit.

'girl face crowds' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'dis' (I've seen this in other clues).
'face crowds' becomes 'missal' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'dis'+'missal'='DISMISSAL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dismissal that I've seen before include "Removal from employment" , "Discharge" , "Notice" , "sending off" , "brush-off" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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