Crossword Genius

Said girl tricked a large reptile (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

anaconda

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'large reptile' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'said girl tricked a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'girl' could be 'con' and 'con' is present in the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ada' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for anaconda that I've seen before include "1 of 21 [SNAKES]" , "One may put squeeze on" , "South American killer" , "Semi-aquatic boa" , "Large semiaquatic snake" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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