Crossword Genius

Thankful about villain carrying ecstasy backtracking (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

relieved

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

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

'about villain carrying ecstasy backtracking' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'about' could be 're' ('re' means regarding or about) and 're' is found in the answer.
'ecstasy' could be 'e' (informal term for the drug) and 'e' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'lived' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for relieved that I've seen before include "Grateful" , "Liberated" , "Raised the siege of, or generally eased pressure" , "Alleviated, assuaged" , "Freed by a substitute? - that relaxed the tension" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.