Crossword Genius

To speechify means nothing to a tearabout (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

orate

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'to speechify' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'nothing to a tearabout' is the wordplay.
'nothing' becomes 'O' (O resembles 0).
'to a tearabout' becomes 'rate' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'o'+'rate'='ORATE'

'means' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for orate that I've seen before include "Give speech" , "Speak formally" , "Speechify" , "make speeches" , "Make a formal address" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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