Crossword Genius

Snake Pass contains one (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

coil

'snake' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'pass contains one' is the wordplay.
'pass' becomes 'col' (col is a kind of pass).
'contains' is an insertion indicator.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral**).
'col' enclosing 'i' is 'COIL'.

(Other definitions for coil that I've seen before include "Wind in a series of loops" , "Wind into rings or spiral" , "Curl, spiral" , "Series of concentric circles" , "Wire winding" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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