Crossword Genius

Tiger's jugular, say, or the surrounding area (4,2,3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

neck of the woods

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

'area' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'tiger's jugular say or the surrounding' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
'tiger' could be 'woods' (I've seen this before) and 'woods' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for neck of the woods that I've seen is " perhaps in a particular area".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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