Crossword Genius

Language of girl initially harsh (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

irish

'language' is the definition.
(Irish is an example)

'girl initially harsh' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'iris' (**).
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'harsh' is 'h'.
'iris'+'h'='IRISH'

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for irish that I've seen before include "From Dublin maybe" , "of European country" , "Gaelic language" , "Passion" , "Kind of whiskey" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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