Crossword Genius

Mutated rural mice become erratic (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mercurial

'erratic' is the definition.
(I know that erratic can be written as mercurial)

'mutated rural mice' is the wordplay.
'mutated' is an anagram indicator.
'rural'+'mice'='ruralmice'
'ruralmice' with letters rearranged gives 'MERCURIAL'.

'become' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for mercurial that I've seen before include "Erratic" , "Changeable in mood" , "Volatile" , "Changing unpredictably" , "Prone to sudden mood swings" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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