Crossword Genius

Strong winds woman's heard (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gales

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

'strong winds' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'woman's heard' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'heard' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is present in the answer.
'woman's' could be 'gals' (gal is a kind of woman) and 'gals' is present in the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gales that I've seen before include "They're force 7 to 10 on the Beaufort scale" , "High winds" , "Strong winds" , "Force 7 to 10 winds" , "Tempests and squalls" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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