Crossword Genius

Mary had crossed a dead snake (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hamadryad

'snake' is the definition.
(hamadryad is a kind of snake)

'mary had crossed a dead' is the wordplay.
'crossed' is an anagram indicator.
'dead' becomes 'd'.
'mary'+'had'='maryhad'
'maryhad' with letters rearranged gives 'hamadry'.
'hamadry'+'a'+'d'='HAMADRYAD'

(Another definition for hamadryad that I've seen is " Ophidian".)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.