Crossword Genius

Semi-nude girl, say (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

declare

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

'say' is the definition.
(declaring is a kind of saying)

'semi-nude girl' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'girl' could be 'clare' and 'clare' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'de' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for declare that I've seen before include "State clearly, announce officially" , "Make clearly known" , "... cut short innings" , "say" , "Make a statement, to customs perhaps" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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