Snake grasped in the middle (3)
I believe the answer is:
asp
'snake' is the definition.
(asp is a kind of snake)
'grasped in the middle' is the wordplay.
'in the middle' says the answer is hidden in the clue (the answer is in the middle of the clue).
'ASP' is hidden within 'grasped'.
(Other definitions for asp that I've seen before include "Small poisonous snake" , "Snake, killed Cleopatra" , "Pa's Cleopatra's killer" , "Slithery thing" , "It proved deadly for Cleopatra" .)