Devious rascals praise it as a means of getting to the next level (6,9)

I believe the answer is:

spiral staircase

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

'a means of getting to the next level' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'devious rascals praise it' is the wordplay.
'devious' is an anagram indicator.
'rascals'+'praise'+'it'='rascalspraiseit'
'rascalspraiseit' anagrammed gives 'SPIRAL STAIRCASE'.

'as' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for spiral staircase that I've seen is " Not a direct flight".)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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