Smooth, starts to sing awfully, needling daughter (4)

I believe the answer is:

sand

'smooth' is the definition.
(sanding is a kind of smoothing)

'starts to sing awfully needling daughter' is the wordplay.
'starts to' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'sing awfully needling daughter' is 'SAND'.

(Other definitions for sand that I've seen before include "Seaside castle-building material" , "Grains of quartz" , "Content of hourglass" , "Desert material" , "Parts of beach" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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