Crossword Genius

Halfwit caught flies in pile of sand (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dune

'pile of sand' is the definition.
(sand dune)

'halfwit caught flies' is the wordplay.
'halfwit' becomes 'dunce' (both can mean a foolish person).
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'flies' suggests deleting specific letters (some letters fly away).
'dunce' with 'c' taken out is 'DUNE'.

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for dune that I've seen before include "Coastal sand hill" , "Sandhill" , "Seashore sand hill" , "Ridge of wind-blown sand" , "Nude in the sand" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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