Crossword Genius

Man will ring, and say this first? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hello

'say this first?' is the definition.
(word said at the beginning of an interaction)

'man will ring' is the wordplay.
'man' becomes 'he' ().
'will' becomes ''ll'.
'ring' becomes 'o'.
'he'+'ll'+'o'='HELLO'

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for hello that I've seen before include "Common greeting as on phone" , "Meeting greeting" , "glossy magazine" , "Look at that" , "Conversation starter" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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