Crossword Genius

She sounds a bit faint (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fay

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

'she' is the definition.

'sounds a bit faint' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
The remaining letters 'fy' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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