Crossword Genius

Colonist interrupts fellow in college regarding old Italian poet (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dantean

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

'college regarding old italian poet' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'colonist interrupts fellow' is the wordplay.
'colonist' becomes 'ant' (ants live in colonies).
'interrupts' is an insertion indicator.
'fellow' becomes 'dean' (I have seen 'Resident fellow' mean 'dean' so perhaps 'fellow' could also mean 'dean').
'ant' going into 'dean' is 'DANTEAN'.

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dantean that I've seen before include "lover of poetry" , "like some Italian poetry" , "from hellish work" , "such is Inferno" , "like poet" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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.