Crossword Genius

One who mesmerises pythons, it turns out (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hypnotist

'one who mesmerises' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'pythons it turns out' is the wordplay.
'turns out' indicates an anagram.
'pythons'+'it'='pythonsit'
'pythonsit' with letters rearranged gives 'HYPNOTIST'.

(Other definitions for hypnotist that I've seen before include "stage entertainer" , "Mesmeriser" , "charmer" , "One who mesmerises" , "Mesmerising person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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