Reptile taking a breather after climbing a rocky height (9)
I believe the answer is:
alligator
'reptile' is the definition.
(alligator is a kind of reptile)
'a breather after climbing a rocky height' is the wordplay.
'breather' becomes 'gill' (I've seen this in other clues).
'after' becomes 'a' (this might be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'climbing' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters climb up).
'a rocky height' becomes 'tor' (I've seen this before).
'a'+'gill'+'a'='agilla'
'agilla' written backwards gives 'alliga'.
'alliga'+'tor'='ALLIGATOR'
'taking' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alligator that I've seen before include "Reptile like a crocodile" , "Fierce reptile" , "Large carnivorous reptile" , "What can go with pear" , "Large semi-aquatic reptile" .)