French friend beheaded one possessed by Devil (8)
I believe the answer is:
alsatian
'french' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'friend beheaded one possessed by devil' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal can mean a friend).
'beheaded' means to remove the first letter (the head of the word is removed).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'possessed by' indicates putting letters inside.
'devil' becomes 'satan' (synonyms).
'pal' with its initial letter removed is 'al'.
'i' placed within 'satan' is 'satian'.
'al'+'satian'='ALSATIAN'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alsatian that I've seen before include "aggressive dog" , "Dog (from French border region?)" , "Wolf-like dog" , "Large dog and someone from Alsace" , "Large canine, may be police dog" .)