Crossword Genius

Killed by a cooked snail (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

slain

'killed' is the definition.
(slaying is a kind of killing)

'a cooked snail' is the wordplay.
'a cooked' indicates an anagram (letters cooked into a new form).
'snail' with letters rearranged gives 'SLAIN'.

'by' is the link.

(Other definitions for slain that I've seen before include "Violently killed" , "Killed, murdered" , "Put to the sword" , "Slaughtered" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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