Crossword Genius

Perhaps repent? Not this woman (3-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

she-devil

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

'perhaps repent? not this' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'woman' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'woman' could be 'devi' and 'devi' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'shel' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for she-devil that I've seen before include "woman like Lilith" , "Malicious and spiteful woman" .)

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.