Crossword Genius

Gunned down in the attempt (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

shot

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

'attempt' is the definition.
(I know that attempt can be written as shot)

'gunned down in the' is the wordplay.
'gunned down in' becomes 'sho' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'sho'+'t'='SHOT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for shot that I've seen before include "completely gone" , "Small drink of liquor" , "Small drink of spirits" , "Fired a gun" , "Fired; turn" .)

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