Crossword Genius

Trump or Putin very soon confined to prison? On the contrary (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

egomaniac

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'trump or putin' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'soon confined to prison? on the contrary' is the wordplay.
'soon' becomes 'in a mo' (in a mo).
'confined to' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'prison?' becomes 'cage' (cage is a kind of prison).
'on the contrary' says the letters should be written backwards (letters in the opposite or contrary direction).
'inamo' inserted inside 'cage' is 'cainamoge'.
'cainamoge' in reverse letter order is 'EGOMANIAC'.

'very' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for egomaniac that I've seen before include "number one fan" , "Excessively self-concerned person" , "Obsessively self-absorbed person" , "One who's self-obsessed" , "Self-obsessed person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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