Somewhat grotesque aliens cry in pain (6)
I believe the answer is:
squeal
'cry in pain' is the definition.
'squeal' can be an answer for 'cry' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the 'in pain' bit.
'somewhat grotesque aliens' is the wordplay.
'somewhat' indicates a hidden word.
'SQUEAL' can be found hidden inside 'grotesque aliens'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for squeal that I've seen before include "Spill the beans" , "Cry -- snitch" , "High-pitched howl" , "Rat on" , "Equals (anag)" .)