Crossword Genius

Saint inside looked hassled (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pestered

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'hassled' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with human feelings as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?

'saint inside looked' is the wordplay.
'saint' becomes 'st' (abbreviation).
'inside' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'looked' becomes 'peered' (peering is a kind of looking).
'st' inserted within 'peered' is 'PESTERED'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pestered that I've seen before include "Constantly bothered by deer pets" , "Constantly irritated by deer pets" , "Badgered with repeated requests" , "Annoyed with frequent questions or requests" , "Annoyed continually" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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