Crossword Genius

Herb repelled Scottish devil woman — but took his time? (5-7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dilly-dallied

'took his time?' is the definition.
(to dilly-dally is to delay)

'herb repelled scottish devil woman' is the wordplay.
'herb' becomes 'dill' (dill is a kind of herb).
'repelled' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'scottish devil' becomes 'deil' (Scottish term for 'devil').
'woman' becomes 'lady' (lady is a kind of woman).
'deil'+'lady'='deillady'
'deillady' backwards is 'ydallied'.
'dill'+'ydallied'='DILLY-DALLIED'

'but' acts as a link.

(Another definition for dilly-dallied that I've seen is " Dragged one's feet".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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