Crossword Genius

Spirit? No alcoholic drink to be knocked back (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

daemon

'spirit?' is the definition.
(I know that daemon is a type of evil spirit)

'no alcoholic drink to be knocked back' is the wordplay.
'alcoholic drink' becomes 'mead' (I've seen this before).
'to be knocked back' is a reversal indicator.
'no'+'mead'='nomead'
'nomead' in reverse letter order is 'DAEMON'.

(Other definitions for daemon that I've seen before include "guardian spirit" , "Spirit in ancient Greek belief" , "Evil spirit" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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