Spillage of tear, or novice crying over spilt milk? (12)

I believe the answer is:

overreaction

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'crying over spilt milk?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'spillage of tear or novice' is the wordplay.
'spillage of' is an anagram indicator.
'tear'+'or'+'novice'='tearornovice'
'tearornovice' with letters rearranged gives 'OVERREACTION'.

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(Other definitions for overreaction that I've seen before include "Excessive response" , "Extreme response" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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