Crossword Genius

Overheard the figure (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

two

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

'figure' is the definition.
(two is a number)

'overheard the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'wo' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for two that I've seen before include "Company allegedly" , "Pair; hour after lunch" , "limited company?" , "'It takes ? to tango'" , "Minimal number of partners" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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