Crossword Genius

Pay attention and join the army in the wrong order (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

listen

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

'pay attention' is the definition.
(to listen to someone)

'and join the army in the wrong order' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is present in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'lise' 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 listen that I've seen before include "Lend an ear (6)" , "Harken" , "what buggers do" , "Take notice" , "Give one's attention" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.