Crossword Genius

Godlike spirit of strange mountain? Not quite (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

manitou

'godlike spirit' is the definition.
(spirit in some Native American theology)

'strange mountain? not quite' is the wordplay.
'strange' indicates anagramming the letters.
'not quite' means to remove the last letter.
'mountain' with its last letter removed is 'mountai'.
'mountai' anagrammed gives 'MANITOU'.

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for manitou that I've seen before include "sacred object" , "Algonquian deified spirit" , "N American Indian spirit" , "Brave spirit" , "Native American evil spirit; out main (anag.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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