“Woe is me”, as a girl said (4)
I believe the answer is:
alas
'girl said' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'woe is me as a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'as' is within the answer.
'a' is within the answer.
A single letter 'l' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alas that I've seen before include "Exclamation of misfortune" , "Woeful expression" , "express regret thus" , "Regrettably, unfortunately" , "Antipodean island state" .)