Crossword Genius

Singer very loud in linked series — the long and short of it (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chaffinch

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'singer' is the definition.
(chaffinch is a kind of birdanimal)

'loud in linked series the long and short of it' is the wordplay.
'loud' becomes 'ff' (short for fortissimo - 'very loud' in music).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'linked series' becomes 'chain' (I've seen this before).
'the long and short of it' becomes 'ch' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'ff' going into 'chain' is 'chaffin'.
'chaffin'+'ch'='CHAFFINCH'

'very' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chaffinch that I've seen before include "European bird with black and white wings" , "Small European songbird" , "Garden bird" , "Singer" , "flier" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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