Rips off parodist - a nasty piece of work to the locals (4)
I believe the answer is:
toad
'of work to the locals' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'rips off parodist a nasty' is the wordplay.
'off' suggests deleting specific letters.
'a nasty' is an anagram indicator.
'parodist' with 'rips' taken out is 'aodt'.
'aodt' with letters rearranged gives 'TOAD'.
'piece' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for toad that I've seen before include "Wind in Willows motorist" , "Dangerous driver" , "Small amphibian" , "Contemptible person" , "Froglike animal or repulsive person" .)