Crossword Genius

Victor, chap in pain in alpine fall (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

avalanche

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

'alpine fall' is the definition.
'avalanche' can be an answer for 'fall' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'alpine' bit.

'victor chap in pain' is the wordplay.
'victor' becomes 'V' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'chap' becomes 'alan' (man's name).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'pain' becomes 'ache' (ache is a kind of pain).
'v'+'alan'='valan'
'valan' going within 'ache' is 'AVALANCHE'.

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for avalanche that I've seen before include "flood" , "serious fall" , "Sudden overwhelming quantity" , "Landslide of snow" , "Rock-fall" .)

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