Crossword Genius

Will the orator be speechless if he loses it? (7,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

address book

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

'will the orator be speechless' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'he loses it?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'he' could be 'bo' and 'bo' is found within the answer.
'it?' could be 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT') and 'e' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'if' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for address book that I've seen is " List of contacts".)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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