Crossword Genius

Fierce sort from country seen in pub area (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

piranha

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'fierce sort' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

'country seen in pub area' is the wordplay.
'country' becomes 'Iran' (Iran is a country).
'seen in' indicates putting letters inside.
'pub' becomes 'ph' (public house).
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'iran' inserted inside 'ph' is 'piranh'.
'piranh'+'a'='PIRANHA'

'from' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for piranha that I've seen before include "Small voracious carnivorous fish" , "Sharp-toothed fish" , "Small carnivorous freshwater fish" , "Ferocious fish" , "Voracious tropical fish" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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