Crossword Genius

Camp champion consuming large bit of snail, say (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tentacle

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

'snail say' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'camp champion consuming large bit of' is the wordplay.
'camp' becomes 'tent' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'champion' becomes 'ace' (I've seen this before).
'consuming' is an insertion indicator.
'bit of' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'large' is 'l'.
'ace' placed around 'l' is 'acle'.
'tent'+'acle'='TENTACLE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tentacle that I've seen before include "Long appendage" , "Flexible grasping organ" , "Long flexible feeler" , "Octopus's "arm"" , "Long, boneless limb in some animals" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app