Crossword Genius

Listened in fearful awe, prepared to bury head (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

earwigged

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'listened in' is the definition.

'fearful awe prepared to bury head' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'head' could be 'ear' (I have seen 'Head of corn' mean 'ear' so perhaps 'head' could also mean 'ear') and 'ear' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'wigged' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for earwigged that I've seen before include "Illicitly picked up" , "Listened" , "Eavesdropped" , "Overheard" .)

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