Crossword Genius

Springs to mind she’s in town, in Australia (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alice

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'town in australia' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'springs to mind she's in' is the wordplay.
'springs to mind' becomes 'c' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'she' becomes 'alie'.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'c' put inside 'alie' is 'ALICE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for alice that I've seen before include "Girl who famously explored Wonderland" , "band" , "Wonderland heroine" , "She fell down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world" , "Movement" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app