Crossword Genius

Nasty red-backed snake (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

meander

'snake' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'nasty red-backed' is the wordplay.
'nasty' becomes 'mean' ('mean' can be similar in meaning to 'nasty'**).
'backed' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'red' back-to-front is 'der'.
'mean'+'der'='MEANDER'

(Other definitions for meander that I've seen before include "Dear men (anag) - wander" , "Wander aimlessly like a stream" , "circuitous route" , "Indirectly move" , "Wandering direction" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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