Crossword Genius

Street urchin to start to go out with bird (11)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

guttersnipe

'street urchin' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'start to go out with bird' is the subsidiary indication.
'start to go out' becomes 'gutter' (as in a candle flame).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'bird' becomes 'snipe' (snipe is a kind of bird).
'gutter'+'snipe'='guttersnipe'

'to' is the link.

(Other definitions for guttersnipe that I've seen before include "poor kid" , "(Neglected) child of the streets" , "Scruffy street child" , "Street urchin" , "Wretched child" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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