Crossword Genius

Means to rescue European snake trapped by elevators (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lifeboats

'means to rescue' is the definition.

'european snake trapped by elevators' is the wordplay.
'european' becomes 'e' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'snake' becomes 'boa' (boa is a kind of snake).
'trapped by' indicates putting letters inside.
'elevators' becomes 'lifts' ('lift' can be a synonym of 'elevator').
'e'+'boa'='eboa'
'eboa' put inside 'lifts' is 'LIFEBOATS'.

(Other definitions for lifeboats that I've seen before include "Safety equipment" , "Vessels for rescue at sea" , "Crafts for rescue at sea" , "Craft for rescue at sea" , "They rescue people" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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