Crossword Genius

Beetle: boy gets rid by shaking (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ladybird

'beetle' is the definition.
(ladybird beetle is a kind of beetle)

'boy gets rid by shaking' is the wordplay.
'boy' becomes 'lad' (lad is a kind of boy**).
'gets' means one lot of letters goes inside another (gets can mean captures or absorbs).
'shaking' indicates anagramming the letters.
'rid'+'by'='ridby'
'ridby' is an anagram of 'dybir'.
'lad' enclosing 'dybir' is 'LADYBIRD'.

(Other definitions for ladybird that I've seen before include "This insect likes greenfly" , "Red insect with black spots" , "Beetle spotted by black" , "spotted one that flies" , "Common insect" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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