Crossword Genius

So loud it breaks the organ? (3-9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ear-splitting

'so loud' is the definition.
'ear splitting' can be an answer for 'loud' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'so' bit.

'it breaks the organ?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is located in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is present in the answer.
'organ?' could be 'ear' (the ear is an organ) and 'ear' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

(Other definitions for ear-splitting that I've seen before include "Painfully loud" , "Very loud and shrill" , "Deafening" , "Deafeningly loud" , "Extremely loud" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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