Feared having a West Indian hairdo? (7)
I believe the answer is:
dreaded
'feared' is the definition.
('dread' can be a synonym of 'fear')
'a west indian hairdo?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'indian' could be 'red' (synonyms) and 'red' is found within the leftover letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'having' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dreaded that I've seen before include "Regarded with great apprehension" , "Was fearful of" , "Greatly feared" , "Anticipated with fear" .)